Until You Come Back to me Again
by Moonlight Usagi-chan
Summary: Usagi and Mamoru grew close, growing up together in the local orphanage, never wanting to leave each others side. But after Usagi gets into a life altering accident and Mamoru is adopted, will the two reconnect after years of separation?
1. Chapter 1

Until You Come Back to me Again

Chapter 1: Once Upon a Time

Rated PG-13

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon is not mine. Sailor Moon and all the characters within the series belongs to Naoko Takeuchi.

Summery: (A/U) Usagi and Mamoru grew close, growing up together in the local orphanage, never wanting to each others side. But after Usagi gets into a life-altering accident and Mamoru is adopted, will the two reconnect after years of separation?

A/N: I know that this is a re-post of this story, but my account "moonlightusa," which I have hfad for years, was hacked and the e-mail and password were changed. I've had no luck in getting anyone to honor a request for my username back, so alas, I have created this one. Unfortunately all of my other works were deleted, so I bring you what I have left. I hope that you'll enjoy reading this as much as I love writing this.

---

The orange sun hung low in the sky as it shined its last rays of the day, the wind lightly blowing through the trees, their leaves dancing to the silent melody. The sky was a mix of oranges, pinks, blues, and reds as night began to creep over, yet the sounds of children's laughter could be heard over the night.

"Stop, Mamo-chan, it tickles!" a young girl no more than eleven years old squeaked. The pollen of a white daisy brushed the tip of her nose.

"Usako, everything tickles you," the thirteen-year-old said. He strummed his fingers on his knee, playing with the freshly picked flower. He looked back to the girl, her blonde hair falling freely from twin tails on the top of her head, stopping just below her shoulders. Her blue eyes sparkled as she looked back into hfis, the same sparkle mirrored.

"Mamo-chan, how come you won't talk to me about your meeting with the Chiba's?" Usagi asked.

Mamoru sighed as he thought back to a week ago when he went out for the afternoon with the mid-aged couple. They took him to a soccer game after they heard about his passion for the sport, and then took him out for a pizza. He had a lot of fun that day, but no one usually took a second chance at him. "There's nothing to tell," he said. "What's the point in getting my hopes up over nothing? No one has taken me yet and I doubt anyone will."

After a few moments of silence, Usagi asked "Mamo-chan, when we are old enough and get out of here, will we be together forever?" She picked a blade of grass and admired its shade of green when Mamoru rubbed his fist playfully on her head.

"Of course we will," he laughed while he stared out to the setting sun. "Once you turn sixteen, I'll be eighteen and then we can get out of here. I'll never leave your side." Moments after Mamoru spoke, he felt a cool, damp piece of material touch his wrist. Looking down, he watched as Usagi tied a multicolored hand-crafted bracelet onto his wrist.

"Promise?" she asked when she had tied the knot, smiling gently. She sighed as he hugged her, then snuggled next to her and watched the sun set.

"I promise. Come on, let's go back inside before Mitsuki-san yells at us for being outside after dark."

The two children stood up and walked back into the large building, its cold, lonely atmosphere slightly putting a damper on the two as they pushed open the large door of the Juuban Children's Home.

---

"Usako," Mamoru groaned as he crossed his arms, "you're supposed to block the ball, not let it roll past!"

"I know, but you kick it so hard!" she whined, causing the other children to laugh.

"I can't help that I'm a natural at soccer," Mamoru shouted. As a result, Usagi stuck her tongue out at him before she turned around to jog after the soccer ball that rolled out into the street. "Be right back!" she shouted back at the group.

"Hurry up, Usako!" Mamoru called out as he watched her run into the road after the ball.

Time suddenly stood still. Mamoru froze in horror as an ocean blue sports car raced down the street, not slowing down. Usagi turned around holding the ball triumphantly before she turned around to head back to the yard. He felt numb as he watched Usagi turn her head and scream when she saw the car wasn't slowing down. She didn't even have a chance to run before she was struck down, the ball once in her hand now bouncing down the road. She fell back on the pavement, smacking her head, and lay on the pavement motionless, blood slowly beginning to stain the ground.

"Usagi!" Mamoru cried as he ran out to her, kneeling by her side. He brushed his fingers against her cheek, hoping for a response. "Usako, wake up! Come on!" he shouted. After hearing a door creak open, Mamoru looked up to see the driver stagger out of the car, eyeing the accident that he had caused.

"Shit," the drunken man slurred, his bloodshot eyes staring down at the two of them. Mamoru looked up, a fire in his eyes as he shot up and slammed the man against his car.

"Look at what you've done, you bastard!" he shouted. He watched the man's eyes as the man looked at the girl, unconscious on the ground, then back to the furious pre-teen. He then wiggled his way out of Mamoru's grasp, and darted down the road. About to chase after him, Mamoru turned around to see Mitsuki, the woman in charge of the home, kneeling at Usagi's side. Mamoru stood there, the drunk forgotten, feeling numb. He looked at Usagi, the blood staining her hair, the glow of her cheerful self subsiding as she lay limp. He could hear the sirens faintly in the background, but his focus continued to stay on Usagi. He felt he was in a daze as he watched the paramedics arrive, carefully lift her on a stretcher, and take her away. He noted that someone must have called for help, but he felt like he wasn't in tune with the reality of the situation.

As the sound of the sirens diminished, he looked around the scene of the accident. He shoved his hands in his pocket and walked back behind the concrete walls of the house. He walked over to the side of the building and slouched down, staring at the dirt, Usagi's high-pitched scream echoing through his mind combining with the wailing of the sirens. The noises running through his mind finally caused him to snap; he screamed as he sank his head between his knees, feeling utterly and completely alone. He had been at the children's home since he was five years old, when fate was cruel and took his parents' lives on his birthday. For two years he was bitter and isolated until his seventh birthday when his eyes diverted to a blonde haired girl with pig tails, her eyes bloodshot from crying.

She stood next to Mitsuki, and then was alone as Mitsuki left the room with two other adults. He watched as she held on tightly to a stuffed cat and slouched in a corner, her cries muffled as she held the cat closer. He stood up and walked over to her, looking down at her. She looked up at him with tear stained eyes, then looked back down at her cat.

"Your hair looks funny," Mamoru bluntly stated. "It looks like spaghetti."

She looked back up at him, her eyes angry. "Shaddup. My Mommy did this hairstyle for me."

Mamoru sank down next to her, causing her to inch away. "Where is your Mommy?" he asked. This caused her to twitch, and then choke a sob.

"He killed her," she whispered softly. "Harry-papa killed her."

Mamoru diverted his eyes from her to the ground as she began to cry again, holding on even tighter to the stuffed cat.

"I like your cat," he said as he poked it. She looked back up at him, then quietly replied, "Her name is Cocoa." Mamoru nodded his head in acknowledgment before he looked back at the ground.

"My name is Usagi," she finally said after her tears subsided. He looked back at her and smiled.

"Mine's Mamoru."

---

It felt like hours had gone by when Mamoru retreated back to his bed in the boy's bedroom. Sitting at the edge of his bed, he rested his hands on his lap, his head dipping. His thoughts were interrupted as he heard someone call his name.

"Mamoru?" a tall brunette woman said as she placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. She was Akiko, Mitsuki's older sister who helped out at the home frequently. "Mitsuki sent for me to bring you to the hospital. She knows how you and Usagi are best friends." Mamoru nodded as he stood up and followed behind Akiko. They got into her car, the ride silent as they drove up to the hospital. Ten minutes later she pulled up at the doors to the front of the building, breaking the silence.

"I have to get back to the children, so I'll let you off here. They're in building three, fourth floor, room 406." With that, Mamoru mustered a quiet goodbye as he exited the automobile. Looking at the large glass doors, he took a deep breath and walked in alone. The atmosphere was chaotic; there were doctors running around, sick children crying, and senior citizens in wheelchairs. He looked around before finding a sign that read "Building Three" and headed in that direction, following the signs that directed him towards the elevator. After waiting patiently for the doors to open, he walked into the lift, and pushed the button titled "four." After what felt like an eternity to Mamoru, the doors reopened, and he walked off and looked at the room numbers. Soon enough he reached Usagi's room, which he slowly and quietly entered.

Her body lay still under a thin blanket. She was in a pale blue hospital gown, her arms lying at her side. She had an IV in her right hand and in her nose a respirator tube. Her hair was falling freely, as it had been taken out of her pigtails, while a large white band was wrapped around her forehead. He looked over at Mitsuki, who was stroking her bangs, then sat down.

"Mamoru," Mitsuki softly said, looking up from Usagi. "I have news on Usagi's condition. They say she hit her head hard on the pavement after the car hit her. Her memories will most likely be gone and will have to start back at square one. The doctor's call it retrograde amnesia." He felt himself flinch as the news slapped him in the face.

"Square one?" he asked quietly, "No memories whatsoever?"

"A ninety-five percent chance," she answered. Suddenly the melody of a ringing phone interrupted the uneasy silence. Mitsuki quietly left the room. Mamoru sat down in the bedside chair, feeling the need to stay by her side and protect his best friend. He stayed silent as he looked at her fragile body. He had the impression that one false move would cause her to break. About a half hour passed when Mamoru looked back after hearing the door open, where he saw Mitsuki leaning against the door panel.

"Mamoru, it's time to go back," Mitsuki said. Mamoru brushed Usagi's bangs away as he took one last look, then stood up and walked over to Mitsuki.

---

Back at the children's home, Mamoru was led into a large room by Mitsuki. He stood as he admired the room, never have seen it once before. Mitsuki walked behind the desk and sat down, and then gestured for Mamoru to sit in the chair across from her.

"Of all days," Mitsuki said under her breath, and sat up straight as she held a folder in her hands.

"Mamoru," she began, "do you remember Mr. and Mrs. Chiba?" She opened the folder and fingered through documents.

"Yes," he replied with confusion.

"As you know," Mitsuki began, "the Chiba's were unable to bare children and have been looking to adopt for years, mainly interested in a young teen. They are very well off financially, so they can put you in the best schools in a great neighborhoo–"

"What?" Mamoru interrupted, dumbfounded.

"Mamoru, they want to adopt you. They want to take you home tonight as a matter of fact."

"What about Usagi?" he asked as his face paled. "I won't go anywhere without her!" he exclaimed as he jumped out of the chair.

"Mamoru!" Mitsuki scolded. "Another family could look into taking her in once she recovers. That means one day, she may leave as well."

"No!" he shouted angrily, heading towards the doors. "You can't separate us, I won't let you, especially now!" He opened the door of her office and he darted to the front of the building and ran out of the gates into the dreary evening. As he ran into the district, the rain came down, thoroughly drenching him. A good forty five minutes later, he arrived back at the hospital. He continued to run until he reached Usagi's room. As he entered the room, he noticed that Usagi was sitting up, an expression of confusion across her face.

"Usako?" Mamoru sputtered out. "You're awake?" He watched as she looked over at him and nod her head. He felt an overwhelming feeling of excitement come over him as he sat down in the chair beside her. "Do you remember me?"

He watched as she stared at him, looking as if she was trying hard to recall him. "Are you my brother?" she asked with hesitation in her voice.

The brief feeling of excitement washed away as he felt his heart break. She didn't remember him.

"Mamoru?" a voice rang through the room. He looked back to see Mitsuki wave for him to come to her. He got out of the chair and left the room, where he was greeted with Mitsuki, the Chiba's standing off to the side.

"She's my best friend," he softly spoke. "She was hit by a car, and she doesn't remember me," he choked out. With saying that, his eyes widened as he felt someone's arms embrace him softly, stroking his damp hair. Mamoru turned his head, seeing a short, black haired woman standing by his side. "It's okay to be sad," she whispered. With the mix of her warmth and caring voice, he began to cry. Usagi, his best friend, the girl he wanted to spend forever with – how could he part from her?

_"__That means one day, she may leave as well__."_

Mitsuki's words echoed in the back of his mind. He felt his stomach turn as he faced the reality that their promises of being together broke because of the accident's outcome. He backed out of Mrs. Chiba's arms and looked back at Usagi through the window. Tears formed in his eyes as he watched her stare down at her blanket, unaware of what had happened to her. She didn't remember him and there was a chance she never would. There would be no memories of their friendship, how they met, or the promises they made to be with each other. He then realized that she, too, could have a family one day. She deserved a comfy bed, to go to a good school, and have parents who would love her. Even if he stayed here, would she? And if she did, would it be fair, growing up in a children's home until she was sixteen?

Mamoru knew that he had to go, that it was fate to walk away with this family. He looked back to see a man with graying black hair and glasses holding two blue umbrellas standing by Mrs. Chiba. He nodded at the couple, then looked through the window one last time and whispered under his breath:

"I'll wait for you, Usagi, until you come back to me again. I promise."


	2. Chapter 2

Until You Come Back to me Again

Chapter 2: Fate

Rated PG-13

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon is not mine. Sailor Moon and all the characters within the series belongs to Naoko Takeuchi ... got to love that woman xD

Summery: (A/U) Usagi and Mamoru grew close, growing up together in the local orphanage, never wanting to each others side. But after Usagi gets into a life-altering accident and Mamoru is adopted, will the two reconnect after years of separation?

-------

Seven years had passed.

The years treated Mamoru well, many would argue. When the Chiba's adopted Mamoru, they brought him back to their home located in Hiroshima, quite the distance away from Juuban. It was his first experience ever being on a bullet train, bringing him away from everything he had ever known. They lived in a penthouse on the top floor of a fancy apartment complex; the interior and the merchandise inside showing that this family was quite well off financially. When they first opened up the door to Mamoru's room, it had a queen sized bed with navy sheets, a down comforter, and multiple pillows (a luxury he had never seen before except on the television), a television set with a VCR/DVD combo set as well as a brand new Play Station system, a cherry wood desk in the corner with a brand new computer as well as textbooks, stacks of papers, writing utensils, and many other basic office supplies. In his room hung a school uniform to the Hiroshima Institute of Technology Junior High School, a prestigious school that if you continued through their senior year, it would insure your chances of getting into a prominent college. Even though Mamoru was spoiled, he never took anything for granted. Living a life where luxury was to a minimum for so long kept his outlook on life positive, and to never take anything for granted. It had taken him a while to adjust to the living situations; calling the Chiba's "Mom" and "Dad" was difficult for months, but finally became native to his tongue as the years passed. He loved his parents and owed them so much, this he knew.

There wasn't a day where Mamoru didn't think of Usagi; where she was, how she was doing, if she was healthy, but most of all, if she remembered him. To this day he still wore the promise bracelet, the once vibrant colors now faded as it had never been removed from his wrist, not once. Throughout Junior High and even on to Senior High, he never looked at another woman in any other way than as a friend, for his heart was dedicated only to Usagi. And with every passing day, the desire to find her and spend the rest of his life with her only grew stronger.

Mamoru, now twenty years old, stood outside of Tokyo University, textbooks in hand as he walked through the campus for his third year at this University. His promising grades and his ambition to practice medicine won him a scholarship, an accomplishment that he took pride in. Since Usagi's accident, he wanted to be able to help people in the same situation as her; he wanted to become a doctor. With time and his volunteer work he did at the local orphanage, his love for children encouraged him to become a pediatrician. Many were impressed with Mamoru's set goals, and he hoped that one day, Usagi would be proud of him as well.

--------------

"Mamoru, over here!" a male voice rung over the bustling noises of the café. Mamoru looked up to see his friend, Ryo, waving him over to a table of five or six people, sitting around with burgers and pop.

"Hey Ryo, everyone," he nodded as he pulled up a seat. Sitting at the table was Ryo, Ryo's "girlfriend" Mika, Yuuichiro, Urawa, Miki, and Saria, friends that he met throughout years. Ryo, Yuuichiro, and Urawa were on the University's soccer team; actually, how he met them was by soccer. In his 3rd year of Senior High he was brushing up on his Physics when a soccer ball was kicked in his general direction. He looked up to see Ryo asking him to throw it back, then Mamoru glared back down to the ball. Ever since Usagi's accident he couldn't bring himself to play soccer, but as he stared at the round ball, the childhood love of the game coursed through his veins. He placed the book down, put his foot on the ball, then from the far distance, kicked the ball with all his might. The ball flew past Ryo, Urawa, and landed in the net behind Yuuichiro, their jaws dropping that the speed, velocity, and accuracy of that kick. They invited Mamoru to play a game with him, and even though he kept turning them down, the excitement finally won him over and he played the rest of the night with the guys. They were so impressed at Mamoru's soccer abilities that they asked him to join the HIT Varsity team and were thoroughly disappointed when he easily declined. When they asked why, he simply said his studies took priority, and left it at that.

"Mamoru, did you hear they have an opening on the team?" Yuuichiro laughed. "You should join!"

"Come on, Yuuichiro, you know every time we ask him we get the same answer. Doctor Chiba won't play with us!" he mock whined.

"Why doesn't he play?" asked Miki, the freshman college girl confused by his silence and lack of enthusiasm.

"Who knows," Ryo said as he leaned back, Mika wrapping her arms around his torso. "All I know is that he won't play with us except on very rare occasions, and I'm telling you, he's better than anyone I know."

"Just let it go, guys," a voice piped up above the small group, another person joining their table. His green eyes stared into the eyes of Ryo as he nodded and dropped the subject, then smiled over at Mamoru. Mamoru nodded, silently thanking the blonde haired friend as he took another sip of his coffee. "Mamoru has his reasons, so let him be."

"Yes, Sir Motoki, Mamoru's knight and shining armor, always saving Mamoru from our pestering" laughed Urawa before a pencil bounced off his head.

"Har har," Mamoru said as he finished his drink up, staring at his watch. "Anywho, time for my chemistry class, so I've got to run."

"Go on, Doctor Chiba, save lives, blow up labs, and flirt with your insanely hot professor!" laughed Yuuichiro.

"Oh you know it," Mamoru sarcastically replied, picking up his backpack and his cup of coffee, heading towards the door. Not two steps into his walk did he collide with someone, the hot liquid falling on his khakis, causing him to jump a mile. "HOT!" he cried as he tried to wipe the hot liquid off of his leg, looking around for something absorbent to wipe the drink with.

"I'm so sorry!" a girls voice cried out as she handed him napkins, "I'm so clumsy, I didn't mean to do this!" she said, her voice trembling with embarrassment as he looked up at her.

He was about to speak, but his voice got caught in his throat. His deep blue eyes came in contact with a beautiful set of cornflower blue eyes, followed by a cute little nose and rosy pink lips. Wisps of blonde hair fell in front of her face, which were falling out of... two buns... with locks of golden hair streaming down from them.

He knew that hair style. He knew those eyes.

It couldn't be her. It... couldn't be that simple.

"It's... it's okay," he managed to choke out, her eyes once filled with embarrassment now relaxing.

"I'm glad you're okay, and again, I'm very sorry," she said softly as she bowed down, then turned around and left.

He stuttered out a incoherent goodbye, his mouth slightly ajar with shock. He quickly stumbled to the door as he watched her, waving to three other girls who he assumed were her friends. Even as she walked away with the girls, he couldn't help but continue to watch her, his heart racing. "It couldn't be her, it can't be that simple," he tried telling himself. Repeating those words, he walked out of the coffee shop and headed to his class, ignoring the snickers his friends were making about him "finally noticing someone." As he opened the large oak door to his chemistry class, he could have sworn his eyes were playing tricks on him because sitting in the back row, second seat from the right, was the blonde haired blue eyed girl, looking beyond nervous as she strummed her fingers on her textbook.

"Someone is either playing a cruel trick on me, or else fate stepped in," Mamoru muttered under his breath as he walked to the back of the room, determined to find out who she was. He sat in the seat next to her, the sound of him dropping his books on his desk startling her. She looked over to him, her cheeks tinting pink as she recognized him.

"Uhm, hello again," she quietly spoke as she diverted her eyes away from him. "How are your, uhm, pants?"

"A bit damp, but slowly drying," he chuckled. He saw that she still was flustered by her accident, so he gently nudged her. "Don't worry about it, really," he said reassuringly, hoping she's ease up a bit.

"I'm really sorry about that," she said again, "At least let me make it up to you, I could buy you another drink to replace the one I spilled on you."

"Like I said, don't worry about it," he replied. "I won't hold it against you forever."

"That's always –- hey, what happened to don't worry about it?" she asked, surprised.

"I'm just teasing you," he laughed as he continued to play it cool. "So tell me, what's your name?"

"Oh, it's—"

"Well, I'm glad to see we have a full house in here this semester!" a voice pipped up, interrupting the introduction. "If you're schedule says Chemistry 101... then this is not your room. This is Chemistry 251 - Organic Chemistry. Let's start by taking attendance..."

The professor worked her way down her list, alphabetically calling out each one of her students names. When she called Mamoru's and he raised his hand, he hoped that the mystery girl would have recognized or would have reacted, but she continued to sit there as she waited for her name to be called. He slouched a bit; he was hoping that she would react to his name, then he would have known whether or not it was Usagi. All seemed lost until the professor got into the "T's" of the role, then the two words he was waiting to hear left the professors lips.

"Tsukino Usagi."

His eyes fixated themselves on her as he watched her raise her hand in response, then place it back down. It was her; he felt like jumping for joy, like screaming at the top of his lungs... his best friend, the love of his life was sitting not 5 feet away from him.

He concluded: fate had stepped in; the torture in his heart on where she might be was over.

-------

Class couldn't have gone any slower; Mamoru impatiently looked at his watch every thirty seconds, anticipating the moment where he would be able to question Usagi. He periodically looked over in her general direction, watching how dedicated and focused she was. He looked back down to his notes and sighed, he hadn't written a single piece of information let alone absorb what was being discussed. Rather, he was debating what he should ask her; be blunt and say "hey, remember me!" or play dumb and say "hey, you looked familiar at first but your name rang a bell?"

His thoughts were interrupted when he saw people grabbing their backpacks and exiting the classroom. He looked at the seat next to him and saw a vacant seat, causing him to snap quickly back into reality. He grabbed his books and quickly exited his seat, quickly leaving the classroom to try and locate her. He saw her standing outside the class room, looking around for someone. When he exited the room, she smiled and walked over to him, then handed him her notebook.

"I saw you weren't paying any attention, if you'd like you can copy my notes," she spoke with a smile on her face. Mamoru slowly reached out and grabbed the notebook, thrown off by not just her kindness but the fact that she was paying attention to him during the class. As he held the notebook in his hand, he took this as a sign to "try and get to know her," so he thought up a quick way to try and get her to accompany him with something.

"Thank you very much. If you want, we can go over to that bench over there and I can quickly copy them so you can have your notebook back," he swiftly said, hoping she would agree. He saw her look at her watch, then she nodded as she spoke; "I have another class in about an hour, so okay." The two of them walked over to the bench and sat down, where he took out his notebook and began copying the notes. As he was copying, he bantered in his head what he should ask her first; he had never been so nervous in his life, not for anything. Usually he was so collected and cool inside and out but today, he was surprised he didn't run screaming through the halls.

"Mamoru?" a voice interrupted his thinking. He looked over to her, which was immediately followed up by another question. "That is your name, right? Mamoru?"

"Uh... yea. Chiba Mamoru," he replied, still hoping the name would help her recognize him.

"Okay, I'm glad I remembered something from that class!" she laughed as she folded her hands in her lap. "My name's Tsukino Usagi," she happily spoke as she playfully held her hand out, signifying a hand shake. He smiled, then accepted her hand and shook it. "I remember, it's the one thing I actually remember hearing in that entire session," he said. She laughed as she took her hand back, then placed it in her lap again.

"So, Mamoru, where are you from?" she asked, watching him copy her notes into his own book.

"Hiroshima," he replied, "but I'm originally from Juuban."

"Really?" she said, surprised, "that's where I grew up as well!"

"No kidding," he smiled, trying to downplay the situation. "Where in Juuban?"

"Actually, I lived in an orphanage until I was eleven, when I was adopted. Then I moved right here to Tokyo," she replied.

Mamoru paused in his writing; he blinked a few times as he took in the information... it was her. It was really her! That statement alone proved it! He felt like dancing, like crying, like grabbing her and hugging the life out of her His thoughts were interrupted when she asked: "Where in Juuban are you from?" He paused for quite a bit of time before he answered, knowing this would lead up to the answer of the question he had been wondering ever since he left.

"... Juuban Children's Orphanage," he replied as he stopped writing, then looked up at her.

"No way," she said. "You mean you are from the same place I am? When were you there?"

"From when I was three to about thirteen. I left there about seven years ago," he spoke, hoping inside he would remember her.

"I left there seven years ago as well; I was there for a long time. Why don't I remember you?"

His body went numb. He should have known, that accident was guaranteed memory loss, and no matter how much he hoped, he knew that the statistics were working against him. He felt his heart ache as he smiled a sad smile to her, then handed her the notebook.

"I wish I knew," he replied, then got up and began to walk away, leaving her confused at the bench.


	3. Chapter 3

Until You Come Back to me Again

Chapter 3: Rebuilding

Rated PG-13

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon is not mine. Sailor Moon and all the characters within the series belongs to Naoko Takeuchi ... got to love that woman xD

Summery: (A/U) Usagi and Mamoru grew close, growing up together in the local orphanage, never wanting to each others side. But after Usagi gets into a life-altering accident and Mamoru is adopted, will the two reconnect after years of separation?

--

She didn't know why, but she continued to sit on the bench for a half hour after he walked away.

For some reason unknown to her, she felt like someone important to her walked away from her, somewhat similar to when she would have an argument with a former boyfriend or a close friend. Yet, she had only met this guy today, even if he left a lasting impression on her. She wished he would have stayed to talk with her, to discuss how he transitioned from living in a house full of kids to being with a family, if the family was good to him, stuff that she had to deal with.

There was one thing, though, that made her heart wrench the more she thought about it: the look in his eyes when she said she didn't know him. Unintentionally, she touched the base of her head behind her ear, recalling the accident and major memory loss. She knew basics, like her name, but everything concerning names of friends, parental figures, favorite foods, and major things that defined her were lost. She had to re-learn everyone's names, re-try foods to discover which her favorite were. It only took her about four months to fully recover, but she never had a flashback or a sudden regain of everything prior to the accident. For all she knew, this was a blessing, but it could also be a terrible misfortune. And that look in that guys eyes made her question the ongoing battle in her mind of good versus bad even more.

She stretched her legs, realizing she was pondering her thoughts for quite a while. Smiling, she decided that she was going to try something different; rather than just trying to get to know him, she was going to see if she could remember him. The look in his eyes made her think that he was once something special, maybe a brother-type figure, or even a possible relative. If he knew about her accident, then maybe he wasn't going to say in hopes of protecting her. Her thoughts were interrupted, though, as she heard her name being called out not to far away. Looking up, she smiled as she saw a lean, young man running to her, carrying a duffel bag while sporting a red jersey. His long black hair was pulled back into a pony tail trailing behind him, as he had a goofy grin stretched across his face. She stood up and faced him, then laughed as she called back to him:

"Seiya!"

--

Mamoru's lips were in a stiff frown for the duration of the afternoon. When he met up with his friends for a "study session," he didn't press that they should study; he just sat there and wallowed in his own thoughts. For a while, the guys were cheerful and played their Xbox 360, but after an hour they realized something was wrong if Mamoru wasn't pushing them to crack a book. Even when they asked him what was wrong, he just grabbed his bag and left the room, clearly flustered in his own thoughts. He ended up walking back to his dorm room and slammed the door, then briskly walked to his room, slamming that door as well.

He should have known that she wouldn't recognize him. The doctors said that the accident had a high chance of memory loss, and he thought he could come to accept that he may not remember her. Sighing, he raked his fingers through his hair, coming to terms that in the end, he never accepted that she did not remember her. Perhaps it was pathetic that he was so overworked about a close friend from ten years ago not knowing who he was, but his heart ached every time he thought about a life without her smiling face in it. Groaning, he fell back onto his bed, resting his head on his pillow.

'I guess if anything, I could try and befriend her,' he thought to himself, 'then maybe something will trigger. If fate brought her to me, I'll be damned if I'm going to lose her again.'

Sitting up, he smiled a determined grin as he opened his book.

"Enough with the wallowing. Now that I have a set plan, it's time to study!"

--

Usagi smiled as she rested her head on the upper-arm of her boyfriend, gently clinging to his arm as they walked to their morning class together. She shyly looked up at him, his blue eyes filled with a childlike wonder as he walked through the hallways of the University. Whenever she looked into his eyes, all she could think about was how the two of them met back in high school in Tokyo.

_She laughed as she waved goodbye to her friend Minako, going the opposite way down the hallway over to her first day of advanced placement chemistry class. The majority of her friends couldn't begin to understand her fascination with chemistry; to them it was all memorization and annoyance. For Usagi, she loved being able to mix and create different formulas and experiment with them. Before she walked into her classroom, she stopped at a drinking fountain, leaning over to take a sip of water when a soccer ball slammed into the back of her head._

_"HEY!" she shouted, turning around with an angry expression written in her eyes. She picked up the soccer ball and threw it down the hallway, bitter that some jock thought it would be funny to throw the ball at her head._

_"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to… hey, what was that for?!" a male's voice boomed as he went to apologize, frowning at her childish behavior in throwing the ball down the hallway._

_"Excuse me, but was that ball yours?" Usagi asked, crossing her arms._

_"As a matter of fact, it was. And I meant to apologize, but now, I think you should apologize to me for throwing my ball down the hallway and go get it!" Seiya shouted._

_"I don't think so! You hit me in the head! Why should I have to go get it?!" she shouted back, equally as loud as he was._

_"Because it was an accident!"_

_"Yes, because balls are always being thrown around in the air, hitting people. It's so common to accidentally step in the way of a flying ball," she sarcastically muttered._

_"Forget you," he said, cross, as he ran down the hallway, picking up the ball that rolled into a space between two vending machines._

_She walked into the classroom, a few minutes late thanks to Mr. Jerk-Jock, and then sat down in the back, where the only available table was left. She opened her notebook and began to jot down the information on the board when the door opened, another student coming into class late. Her curiosity died down once she realized it was the jock holding the soccer ball under his arm, his face red from running to the classroom._

_"You're late sir, you can park yourself in the back next to Ms. Tsukino," the teacher stated as he turned his back and continued to write on the board._

_They both groaned as they had to sit next to one another, moving their chairs as far apart as possible. Over the months, they began to talk, and by the holidays, they were good friends. When Valentines Day rolled around, he asked her to the formal dance, and at the end of the night, the two were a couple._

She giggled as she realized that a silly childish act brought two complete strangers together, and she loved spending every second with him. He was on the college soccer team – a starter – and was a great defense player. She watched every game since August, always supporting him. He really did know how to complement her, and he made her very happy.

He looked down at her, his blue eyes sparkling as he laughed at her goofy grin. "What are you thinking about, Usa?"

"Oh, just reminiscing on the good old days," she laughed as they walked into their classroom, taking her seat in the back at the same table as Seiya.

"Oh, really?" he laughed as he pulled out a notebook, a pen, and his literature book. She smiled as she pulled out her class materials as well; she loved that the two of them attended school together. While she was a chemistry major, Seiya was a literature major. He was very bright when it came to Shakespeare, was a brilliant actor and singer, but she could see that his passion was truly soccer. She was about to reply when the professor came in, so she faced the board, opened her notebook, ready for today's lesson.

--

Mamoru was walking with Yuuichiro, Ryo, and Urawa, since he was on his way to the library, which passed by the soccer field. As usual, the three of them pestered Mamoru to join the team, which he declined, saying his studies took place.

"You do realize, Mamoru, that students with activities as well as studies impress corporate boards and people in high places," Yuuichiro stated.

"Yea, you look more rounded," Ryo laughed, another attempt to get Mamoru to give in.

"You guys, how many times are you going to try and persuade me?" he stated as he continued to walk.

"Mamoru, you're letting that beautiful talent go to waste!" Urawa said, "You would kick any rookie off the team in two seconds!"

"Yea, like that new freshman. He thinks he's so great since he's here on a sports scholarship," Ryo said as he rolled his eyes.

"Ryo, aren't you here on a sports scholarship?" Mamoru poked as his friends laughed.

"Oh shove –" The three guys stopped as they realized Mamoru had stopped walking with them, staring at a blonde girl. They snickered, realizing this was the same girl that spilled the coffee on him yesterday, but took a closer look, seeing that she was talking cute with another guy. The three of them watched intensely as they saw Mamoru's eyes full of jealousy. The petite blonde was running her finger up and down the chest of the rookie soccer player they were talking about moments ago, then looked back at Mamoru as fire erupted in his eyes as she stood on her tip-toes to kiss him goodbye. She then waved as she watched him run down into the field, as she walked up to the bleachers. Once Mamoru caught up to them, he continued to walk briskly away from the field.

"So, uhm, Mamoru, what was that all about?" Yuuichiro asked, breaking the ice.

"Nothing," he quickly responded.

"No, no," Urawa stated as he stood in front of him, stopping him, "Seriously, dude, what's with the intense look of death?"

"Back off," he harshly said.

"You know," Ryo said, "That's the new rookie I mentioned. Personally, if it was me, I'd beat him at his own game to win the fair lady." With that comment, he gave a knowingly smile and walked down to the field, where the guys followed, leaving Mamoru to stand there in thought.

'You know, Mamoru, that wouldn't be such a bad idea,' he thought.

"But I gave up playing soccer," he said to himself as he kept walking to the library.

'You gave it up for her, but there she is, watching someone else play the sport you once lived for.'

"No, I want to be a doctor, I need to study," he re-assured himself.

'There's nothing wrong with playing soccer, you fool, especially if she's going to watch.'

That thought shut him up.

'Perhaps it would help her remember you, seeing you play the sport you two always played together at the orphanage.'

He could have sworn he saw the words "SOLD" plastered in front of him as he turned around, headed towards the field, shouting for the guys to come back up to talk to him.

--

"Now, I know you guys are my three best players, but why should I let someone new come on to my team that I have never even heard of? I have many potential guys that I am planning to scout out, but you want me to take him?" Coach Tomoe said, crossing his arms as he looked at the three men.

"Coach, seriously, you've got to see him play," Ryo said. "He's better than the three of us put together!"

"He really is, coach. He never played because of some personal issue that none of us know of, but if he says he wants to play, then sir, you should give him a chance," Yuuichiro stated, backing Ryo up.

"What's his name again?" Coach Tomoe asked, giving in.

"Chiba Mamoru," Urawa said, grinning. "Trust me sir, you don't be let down."

"Is he here?" Coach Tomoe asked, "If he's going to be given a chance, I want to see now."

"I'll go get him sir!" Urawa said as he ran out of the locker room, where Mamoru happened to be waiting.

"Coach, he really deserves this. He's a fantastic student and your jaw will drop when you see him, and you know how good we are," Yuuichiro said, cockily. "If we think he's good, then he's got to be, right?"

"Calm down, boys, let me make the decision," Coach Tomoe said. Looking over, he saw a tall young man walking along side of Urawa, carrying a small duffel bag of his own. Immediately, he walked up to the coach, holding out his hand.

"Chiba Mamoru. Thank you for giving me this opportunity, coach," he said as Coach Tomoe shook his hand, impressed by the up front introduction.

"Nice to meet you too, Chiba-san. Now, go change and let me see what you've got to offer."

"Yes, sir!" Mamoru said as he walked off, a few moments later returning in a pair of shorts, cleats, and a Hiroshima Tech gym shirt.

"Hiroshima Tech, huh? Coach Tomoe asked, "I see how you know these three."

"Yes, sir," he nodded as he began to follow him out of the locker room and to the field. As he walked on to the grassy stretch of land, he felt overwhelmed considering he forbade himself to join a team for over ten years. His heart was racing as his stomach told him this was wrong, but when he looked over to see Usagi leaning over the railing talking to the black haired player, he felt adrenaline rushing through his veins. He smiled as he tightened the laces on his cleats, looked over at the coach, who rolled the ball over to him.

"Alright, Chiba, show me what you've got!"

Looking slightly over to the crowd, he saw Usagi look up for a moment, smiling in his general direction. Feeling more confidence than ever, he began to dribble the ball to the goal, going at a very fast pace without losing control, using kicks that Coach Tomoe hadn't seen his players use in years. When he saw Mamoru kick the ball into the goal post with such velocity and accuracy, he applauded. As Mamoru jogged back, Coach Tomoe placed his hand on his shoulder.

"Now, Chiba, that was impressive, but that doesn't mean you've won me over yet. Let's see how you do against a few players. Yuuichiro, Ryo, Urawa, you go against Mamoru." He looked around his field, seeing which players still hovered around after practice. "Seiya!" he shouted, "You and Taiki get over here! I need to borrow you for a try-out!"

Seiya and Taiki jogged over to the coach, where they were informed of being on Mamoru's team. "Now, boys, I want to see how Mamoru would do in center, Seiya, you defend, Taiki, you're his right wing. Now let's see how you can do with him."

"Yes, sir," they both said as they got behind Mamoru, snickering to themselves, thinking he wouldn't have a chance going against the three star players on the team. Once the coach blew the whistle, they saw as Mamoru quickly took control of the ball from the center ring, dodging Yuuichiro as he came right at him. He quickly passed it off to Taiki, who was impressed by the quick and accuracy of the pass, but was apprehensive once Ryo charged at him, stealing the ball from him. Mamoru quickly juggled his feet to turn around, noticing Seiya covering the goal, then watching as he quickly got the ball out of Ryo's possession and passed it over to Mamoru with terrible accuracy. Mamoru quickly ran to meet with the rolling ball, catching up to it, then gave a powerful kick into the goal, passing by Urawa into the net. He gave a triumphant smile as he looked over to Coach Tomoe, his clipboard in his hand, grinning a winner's grin, seeing stars in his eyes.

"Chiba, my boy, welcome to the team!"

--

Seiya walked away from the celebration, seeing the three juniors giving high fives to the new guy, rolling his eyes as he walked back over to Usagi, who was looking over at the group. He grabbed his towel from the bench, looking up at her.

"Ne, Usa, what is so interesting about that scene?" he asked, kind of irritated.

"Oh, nothing, Seiya, I'm just surprised he made the team that quickly. Usually try-outs are a lot harder and longer than that, aren't they?" she asked, putting her index finger to her chin.

"Yea, they do," he stated, "But he has the support of those three guys."

"Oh, I see," she said. "He did look really good out there, though."

"He's just back-up, I doubt he'll see any playing time," Seiya said, a hint of jealousy in his voice.

"What's wrong, Seiya?" Usagi asked as she looked at him packing his stuff up, swinging his duffel bag over his shoulder.

"Nothing," he quickly said, "I'm going to go change. I'll see you later."

Usagi frowned as she watched him walk away, but couldn't keep her eyes off of the guy who she couldn't get out of her mind celebrating making the team of the sport that she couldn't stay away from.


	4. Chapter 4

Until You Come Back to me Again

Chapter 4: Reconnecting

Rated PG-13

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon is not mine. Sailor Moon and all the characters within the series belongs to Naoko Takeuchi

Summery: (A/U) Usagi and Mamoru grew close, growing up together in the local orphanage, never wanting to each others side. But after Usagi gets into a life-altering accident and Mamoru is adopted, will the two reconnect after years of separation?

---

"This is so awesome! I mean, seriously, us guys are going to dominate the field!" Ryo cheered as he slung his arm around Mamoru, partying at one of the nightclubs in downtown Tokyo. He held up his beer bottle in victory, and then took a swig as he gave Yuuichiro a high five.

"Man, Mamoru, this is sweet! It's only taken us YEARS to persuade you!" Yuuichiro laughed as he leaned up against the bar, placing his empty bottle down on the counter. It was quickly replaced with a fresh one, which he quickly claimed and drank down.

Mamoru smiled as he held his own bottle in his hand, barely touching it. He never enjoyed the taste of alcohol, especially beer. Once in a great while he'd have a beer or two, but only on social events, such as this. He leaned back against the bar, watching the guys trying to get close with a slew of scantily clad women, using cheesy dance moves that pretty much were a bust. He burst out in laughter as he saw Urawa try to dance with a leggy tall brunette, who pushed him away, causing him to fall over from too much alcohol consumption. His eyes trailed as he watched the brunette head back over to a group of girls in a fit of giggles. He was about to take a sip of his beer until the blonde buns atop of a girls head caught his eye once more; there she was, laughing with a bunch of friends, holding a tropical looking drink in her hand. He must have been staring for a while because he noticed her blue eyes connect with his, a smile and a wave following immediately after. Caught off guard by her stare, he gave a goofy grin before waving back. Then he looked back, realizing how much of an idiot he must have looked like.

'C'mon Mamoru, can't you at least look a little impressive?' he thought to himself.

"Geez, Mamoru, can you make it any more obvious who you're lusting after?" a voice chimed in, causing Mamoru to look up. He laughed as he held up his beer bottle, nodding his head in recognition of his best friend standing right in front of him.

"Motoki, glad to see you're alive and kicking," Mamoru teased as he received a punch in the arm.

"Shove it, you knew I had some business I needed to take care of," he said as he plopped down on the barstool next to Mamoru, ordering himself a beer.

"You mean getting rid of your latest squeeze? What was her name, Keisha? Keina?" Mamoru said with a wise-ass smirk on his face.

"Keiko, you jackass," Motoki replied as he grabbed the beer that was placed on the counter. "And yes, she was getting way too clingy for me."

"Ah, yes, because we all know that Motoki can't stay in a relationship for more than two weeks," laughed Mamoru as he took another sip, surprised he actually finished the fowl tasting alcohol.

"Hey, you know that's not true," Motoki countered in a cross voice, "It's not my fault Reika wanted to study abroad."

Mamoru frowned. Motoki was right; through out high school, he was dating this beautiful, tall, chestnut haired girl named Reika. Not only was she beautiful, but she had a love for history, especially archeological facts. To be honest, Mamoru thought the two of them would have married, had she not taken the opportunity to go to Africa to study fossils.

"Hey man, sorry about that," Mamoru apologized sincerely as he picked up the new chilled bottle of beer that was sitting where the empty one once lay.

"No big, man. It just means it's time to pick up some fresh meat!" Motoki laughed as his eyes grazed the dance floor. "Ok, someone needs to explain to me what the hell Urawa is doing because that is the most horrific thing I have ever seen!"

--

"Usagiiiiii," a high pitched voice shrieked, snapping her out of her train of thought.

"What is it, Minako?" Usagi asked, looking over at one of her best friends.

"That guy you keep checking out is so hot!" Minako squeaked, running her fingers through her sunny blonde hair, trying to tease her already styled hair.

"Minako-chan, I'm not checking him out. We've just bumped into each other on occasion," Usagi defended, crossing her arms.

Minako's eyes glittered as she gazed over the guy that caught Usagi's attention. She nodded in approval, grinning to herself, thoughts of matchmaker playing in her mind. Minako always thought of Usagi as a sister rather than a best friend; in fact, many people mistake the two of them for being twins. Both girls had sunny blonde hair, blue eyes, and a slender figure. The only difference between the two of them is while Usagi was more prone to studies, Minako was an athlete. She won a partial scholarship to Tokyo University based off of being on the Volleyball team. As she looked at Usagi drink her tropical drink, she thought about how much fun it would be for her to loosen up a bit. For Kami's sake, she was drinking a Shirley temple rather than alcohol! She looked back over to the cutie down the bar, noticing his dark alluring features: black shiny hair, sapphire colored eyes, a tone figure…too bad he wasn't blonde, otherwise she'd go after him. He had a mysterious aura to him as well, she concluded, as she looked back at the serious Usagi. She frowned as she thought about Usagi's current relationship status with Seiya. In fact, she hated Seiya and everything he stood for. While Minako was an athlete as well, she didn't use it to make herself some wonderful star. Seiya was all about being a name, a star, and it got very old very fast. Whenever Usagi brought him around, he was always trying to show off in one way or another, and it really irritated her very quickly. He was so stuck up, and Usagi was so down to Earth. Personally, she couldn't understand what attracted Usagi to Seiya in the first place.

"Mina-chan, who's that sexpot you keep staring at?" a voice broke out.

"Yea, he's gorgeous!"

Minako turned around to see two of their best friends Rei and Makoto looking over her shoulder, staring at the dark haired stranger.

"Oh, that's Usagi's new eye candy," Minako teased as Usagi blushed.

"Mina-chan!" Usagi hissed as she shot a death glare. "I have Seiya, so there is no need to stare at another man."

"Then do you mind if we go talk to him?" Rei asked as she brushed her bangs out of her face, her eyes grazing the stranger at the bar with the other guys.

"No, go on ahead," Usagi fumbled before biting her lip, looking back at her drink.

"I can hear it in your voice, He IS an interest!" Makoto cheered, catching the falter she let out.

"I'd tell you why I was looking at him, but since you're all teasing me, forget it!" she grinned as she got up and walked out to the dance floor, her boyfriend waving for her to come out there.

"Usaaaaaaaagi-chan," the three of them whined before following her back out to have a good time.

--

The next morning, Mamoru woke up to banging on his door, hearing something about 'practice' and 'ass out of bed.' He groaned as he rolled over; he didn't put the two together: practice and early morning. He forced himself out of bed, sliding on a pair of blue training shorts and a Nike t-shirt, clothing he usually wore to bed that proved to be useful in training. He grabbed his cleats and a few items he had laying around before meeting up with the guys, anxiously waiting for practice.

"You guys are going to be the death of me," he grumbled.

"Yea, but here's the thing. We got your ass into the tryout, and if you mess up, it's our asses that'll be fried by the coach, so when we wake you up, you get up," Ryo grinned as he mocked a thumbs up.

"Assholes," he muttered as he filled his water bottle up, and then walked out the door to practice. As the three of them walked outside towards the field, he looked over and saw Usagi at the coffee cart that usually circulated around the buildings.

"Hey guys, I'll be back," Mamoru said as he made a sly turn away from them towards the coffee cart, ignoring his friends' protest about drink coffee before practice. Approaching, he tried to conceal his grin as he stood behind her in line.

"Here you go, miss," the coffee-cart guy smiled as he handed her a small cup.

"Thank you," she politely replied before turning around, just shy of bumping into Mamoru, causing him to jump back.

"Spilling coffee on me once is plenty, please don't soak me again!" he joked as he put his hands up in a mock defense, smiling from ear to ear.

"You're so rude!" Usagi squealed as she lightly hit him on the arm. "So much for forgive and forget, huh?"

"I forgive, but my pants have to forget the stain that's left on them," he laughed. He briefly turned his attention to the coffee-cart guy, ordering a small black coffee, and then turned back to Usagi. "So where are you heading this early in the morning?"

"Oh, uhm," she stuttered, "I'm going to the soccer field."

"Ah," he replied as he grabbed the cup of coffee and dropped some yen into the workers hand, "Your boyfriend, right?"

"Ah, yea," she spoke with an uneasy tone, which threw Mamoru off for a moment. "He's the starting right wing."

"I saw him out there, he's pretty good." Mamoru reassured with false happiness, causing Usagi to beam.

"Yea, you guys worked well together out there. I hope that you guys get along," she pondered with an apprehensive tone.

"Hope? Who wouldn't like me," he said as he shot an egotistic winners grin, making her laugh.

"He just gets… jealous easily. As much as I don't want to say it, I can tell he's threatened by you."

"Me? I'm just a new player; I probably won't even see game time."

"We'll see, won't we?" she retorted as she started walking away, waving at him as she headed towards the bleachers.

Mamoru stared at his full cup of coffee, and then tossed it in the garbage. He walked down to the field, where he met up with the guys and began practicing.

--

"That new guy is pretty good."

"As much as I don't want to admit it, he really is."

"Will you two shut up?" Seiya said as he tightened the laces on his cleats. He looked over at his two best friends, Yaten and Taiki, before crossing his arms, narrowing his eyes.

"I guarantee the only reason he made it on the team was because of those three suck-ups," he muttered.

"You're just pissed at the idea that someone may take away your fame, huh?" Taiki boldly challenged, receiving a death stare from Seiya. "Oh come on, we're not oblivious. We know about how this is going to be your year, how you are going to take Urawa, Yuuichiro, and Ryo down, that you'll be the favorite."

"We heard it while you were in the shower," Yaten quickly added in before running out to the field.

"You guys are assholes," Seiya stated. "It should be us three that are praised; we're younger and fresh talent."

"Seiya, they'll be done in 2 seasons, and then it'll be us. We have to prove ourselves first," Taiki reasoned as he crossed his arms. "You're the only one of us who's getting serious play time, so count your blessings."

"I won't until I see the three… no, four of them gone," Seiya grinned as he jogged out onto the field, Taiki behind him rolling his eyes.

--

Usagi sat in the bleachers, staring at the new player. 'What is it about him that makes me unable to stop thinking about him,' she questioned herself. She closed her eyes as she felt the breeze kick in, her hair rippling as she heard team mates laughing, the coach yelling, and counting off during exercises. As the wind picked up, she smelled a beautiful scent: daisies mixed with fresh cut grass.

Suddenly, a choppy slideshow appeared in her head: an orange sky, a little girl sitting in the grass, a young boy with black hair and blue eyes ticking the girl with a daisy. Her body jolted as she opened her eyes, then she doubled over in pain, resting her head on her hand.

"What.. what was that?" she asked as she dropped her coffee, the image of the blue eyes of the little boy burned in her memory.


	5. Chapter 5

Until You Come Back to me Again

Chapter 5: Building a Friendship

Rated PG-13

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon is not mine. Sailor Moon and all the characters within the series belongs to Naoko Takeuchi ... got to love that woman xD

Summery: (A/U) Usagi and Mamoru grew close, growing up together in the local orphanage, never wanting to each others side. But after Usagi gets into a life-altering accident and Mamoru is adopted, will the two reconnect after years of separation?

Thank you all so much for your support! Reviews are GREATLY appreciated!!

---

"So what did you think of the seminar, Minako-chan?"

"Rei-chan, why did you drag me along? You know I'm not into history or any of that boring stuff!"

"Minako-chan, it was a discussion about the Samurai and the feudal era of Japan! How can you be uninterested about our country?!"

"I lived in London, you don't see me ecstatic that I lived in the same county that has a queen, do you!?"

"What does THAT have to do with anything?!"

_What was that all about_

"Everything! It shows I don't care about history!"

"Jeez, I should have brought Usagi-chan along over you; she could at least pretend to be interested!

_Those blue eyes…that little boy…_

"Hello! Usagi's not interested in that stuff, either, right Usagi-chan?"

_It all seems familiar…_

"Usagi-chan?"

_I get goose bumps every time I think of that scent… like it's tickling me…_

"Odango Atama?"

_I don't know what to ma—_

"USAGI-CHAN!!"

Usagi blinked a few times, stares of violet and blue meeting with her own.

"Oh, I'm sorry guys, what were you guys talking about?"

"Oh forget it, Usagi," Rei said before resting back against the couch, pulling out a magazine.

"Daydreaming again, Usagi-chan?" Minako smiled as she reached for a piece of chocolate sitting in the candy dish.

"Ano… Yea, I was," she laughed as she took a handful of popcorn, and then began to throw the pieces into her mouth.

"About a certain black hair blue eyed hottie at the bar?" Minako slyly stated, causing Usagi to cough out her popcorn.

"WHAT! NO!" she said as she turned beat red.

"I don't know, Odango, I think you were," Rei sided with Minako, causing Usagi to turn red even more.

"I was not," she said, her cheeks still flushed at the mention of Mamoru. "Actually, when I was watching Seiya, I had a weird flashback, I think."

"What?" the two girls said in chorus, putting down their magazines.

"Yea, it was really weird. You know how I lost all memory from before I was 10 of anybody I knew? Well, I think it has to do with that."

"What happened in it?" Rei asked, her curiosity at its max.

"It was only brief images, colors, and scents. I saw an orange sky, a large building, the scent of grass and daisies, and a little boy with black hair and sapphire eyes laughing. The more I think about it, the building makes me think of the orphanage, but I'm not so sure," Usagi explained, bringing her legs up to her chest and hugging them. "I wish I got more of a picture, you know? It was only about 5 seconds of fast forward movements."

Minako and Rei both put their arms around their friend, knowing all about her life before adoption.

"Cheer up, Odango Atama, as you have said many times, maybe remembering isn't a good thing, ya know?" Rei said as she sat back down in her bean bag chair.

"Yea, but the thing is, it feels like something is missing," Usagi sadly said, "like I don't know the whole package of who I am."

The three girls sat in silence for a little while, thinking about how hard it must be not to know who you are, who your parents are. Rei and Minako both idolized how strong Usagi was for that and that it didn't get the better of her. Being adopted at age 10 with no memories of anything, going into a household with parents that hardly paid attention to her after they had a "miracle baby," they were impressed that she managed to get into a prestigious school studying chemistry. The fact that the parents even paid for her education was even more surprising, considering they were always so wrapped up adoring Shingo. With a lack of attention, a vulnerable teenage girl could have easily turned to drugs or alcohol as a cry for attention. Instead, Usagi buried herself in her studies so that she could make everyone proud, including herself.

"Don't worry, Usagi-chan, it'll all fall into place," Minako smiled with a cheerful wink. "Now stop moping, it's girls night out and I say it's time we watch Ultra Maniac!"

--

"Good morning, Usagi-chan," a male voice boomed, causing her to jump out of her chair in the library.

"Mamoru-san!" Usagi laughed as she recollected herself. "You scared me!"

Mamoru chuckled as he took a seat next to her. "That was the point."

"So, ready to study?" she smiled as she opened up her textbook, passages highlighted with written notes on the side.

"Yes, ma'am!" he laughed as he opened his book to the same page. He couldn't help but grin as the two of them discussed chemistry; there was a big test covering the first 7 chapters in a few days, and the two of them decided to team up and study with each other so they could do well on the exam. He loved that she had such a passion for chemistry; her intellectual side of her made her that more attractive in his eyes, considering studies were the main priority in his life. Becoming a doctor was everything to him.

"Mamoru-san?" the sweet voice brought him out of his thoughts.

"Yea?"

"Coffee break?" she suggested, rubbing her temples. "I can't stare at a textbook for over an hour without my morning caffeine jolt."

"It's been an hour already?" he asked surprised. He looked over at the clock on the wall, reading 10:30am. "Wow, so it has."

"Come on, there's a coffee cart right outside. Let's go get a cup and take a breather. It'll be good to get some fresh air," she smiled.

"Sure thing," he smiled back. He stood up while leaving their books and bags scattered on the table, and then walked outside to the coffee cart. The scent of the fall wind was quite welcoming from the smell of old leather books, as well as the wind lightly picking up. Soon, the aroma of coffee was surrounding him as he walked up to the coffee-cart cashier.

"Hi there, what can I get for you?"

"I'll take a medium caramel iced coffee with whipped cream," Usagi said cheerfully as she eyed the coffee cake in the glass.

"And I'll have a large coffee, black," he paused, "and two pieces of coffee cake."

"Your total is 700 yen, sir."

Mamoru handed him 800 yen, ignoring Usagi's 500 yen she was offering. Once he received his change, he handed Usagi over her drink and a piece of cake, taking his own and sitting on the bench nearby.

"Mamoru-san, you didn't have to do that!" she said as she tried to hand him the coins.

"It was my treat, enjoy it," he laughed as he took a bite of the cake. "Wow, this is pretty good."

Usagi also took a bite, the cinnamon flavor bursting in her mouth. "Wow, this really IS good!"

"You've never tried it before?" Mamoru asked.

"No, I don't really have a great amount of money to throw around. Usually I get a coffee around breakfast, but that's it. And that is only because my coffee maker in my dorm is busted," she sighed, thinking about her very limited funds.

"Really? When was the last time you went out for dinner?" he asked her as he took a sip of his coffee.

"Dinner? Uhm… before school started at least. My parents really didn't do family dinners if you know what I mean," she sighed again.

"Let me take you out sometime," he casually suggested.

"What?" Usagi said surprised, almost dropping her cake.

"As friends. Let me take you out for a nice meal. I'm sure you'd rather have something more edible than instant ramen."

Usagi thought about it for a little while, her mouth watering at the thought of a plate of gourmet food placed in front of her. She thought of Seiya's reaction, but her taste buds were overpowering her mind right now. Plus, Mamoru was just her friend, right? Plus a past acquaintance… and she did want to get to know him.

"That sounds like fun," she smiled as she took the last bite of the coffee cake.

"We'll play it by ear; let me know what day works out best for you."

"Sounds good! Now, let's get back to those books!"

--

"Hi there, my name is Motoki."

Sky blue eyes met with jade green ones as she looked up from her book, smiling back at the cute guy as she brushed her blonde bangs out of her eyes.

"Minako," she stated as she held her hand out.

He gave a winners smile as he took her hand, lightly shaking it.

"I have this friend, and I think he's interested in your friend…"

"Yes, and from what I can see, I believe she's interested as well…"


	6. Chapter 6

Until You Come Back to me Again

Chapter 6: Rising to the Challenge

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon is not mine; it belongs to the goddess known as Naoko Takeuchi.

Summery: (AU) Usagi and Mamoru grew close, growing up together in the local orphanage, never wanting to each others side. But after Usagi gets into a life altering accident and Mamoru is adopted, will the two reconnect after years of separation?

(A/N: Would you believe I hate soccer with a passion and know nothing about it?)

--

A slew of colors was the best way to describe how the university's courtyards looked, Usagi decided. Blues, Whites, Flags, Streamers… it was a festive scheme, and she loved every second of it. She looked over to Seiya, who was crowded by a bunch of his friends, and saw the look of excitement twinkling in his eyes.

Tonight was the homecoming game.

Many alumni and current students lined the campus sidewalks as they gassed up their grills, tailgating their way into the afternoon. The scent of barbeque sauce, steaks, and vegetables filled Usagi's senses as she beamed with joy. Today would be her first day experiencing college festivities, and what better way to do it with a boyfriend who is playing in tonight's homecoming game?

She looked over to Minako, who was grinning just as wide, then latched arms with her as they maneuvered their way through the cheering students. Many of them were sporting their Tokyo U apparel, carrying little flag pendants, shouting that Tsukuba was going down. Joining in with the festivities, Usagi was sporting Seiya's soccer hooded sweatshirt and her track shorts, wearing flip flops and her hair in a high ponytail. Being so casual yet so school spirited made her feel like she belonged in this area and felt like she was doing her best to promote her boyfriend. Minako continued to help Usagi maneuver through the crowd, her eyes focused on one thing: the dark haired blue eyed soccer player.

_"So, what made you want to partake in this little concoction of mine?" his jade eyes twinkled as he matched them to her baby blue ones. _

"It's simple, really. I can't stand her boyfriend," she challenged as she flipped her hair back.

"See, my position is that Mamoru really needs to loosen up. He's as stiff as a textbook."

"Usagi's the same exact way. She's a great person with a lot of accomplishment, but she needs to have more fun in life. And Mr. Superstar just is not helping," she sighed as she acknowledged him taking a seat next to her.

"So what should we do about this, then?" he questioned as he looked at her, admiring the large smile appearing on her face.

"Homecoming is this weekend. You bring Mamoru, I'll bring Usagi," she grinned as she stood up. "By the way, why are you doing this again? You don't strike me as the kind of guy to play matchmaker. Usually that's a girl's job."

"Ah, but you see," he began, "I'm not like most guys." Standing up, he shot her a winner's smile before he picked up his school bag and proceeded into the bustling crowd of students, his arm brushing ever so lightly against her own. Minako turned around, her cheeks lightly tinted a rose color from the brief encounter, a bubbling feeling that she finally met her match. 

"Minako-chan, where are we going?" Usagi laughed as she dodged another cheering student, nearly falling on her face doing so.

"I want to check out how many people are gathering at the field before we eat!" she shouted over the erupting noises of the school band grew louder as they approached the soccer field. They stood on the side of the field as they saw the schools marching band playing, students in bleachers singing along to the band, a slew of vibrant colors in ever nook and cranny.

"This is way too cool!" Usagi cheered as she began dancing in circles in the field, her hair waltzing with the wind.

"I hear you, sister!" Minako concurred as she started jumping around with Usagi, the addiction of the cheering arising in the both of them. Suddenly, Minako stopped, a larger grin growing on her face.

"Hey Usagi-chan, isn't that the guy from the bar you were making goo-goo eyes at?" she giggled as she turned Usagi around in the direction of the handsome stranger.

"Ano, yea, that's him. But I was not making goo-goo eyes at him," she protested. She saw him wave to her, which she politely waved back.

"Usagi-chan, invite him over here!" she squealed as she shook her shoulders lightly.

"Minako-chan, he's with a friend. There's no need to bother him," she reasoned.

"Usagi-chan, come on!" she bantered as she waved for Mamoru to come over, which he at first protested until the blonde he was with pushed him along.

"Minako-chan," she hissed as she gave her a dirty look, and then looked in Mamoru's direction as he and his friend made their way up to them.

"Kon'nichiwa, Usagi-chan," Mamoru said as he grinned.

"Kon'nichiwa, Mamoru-san," she replied. "Sorry if my dear friend here put you on the spot," she laughed as she looked at Minako, who struck a victory pose. "This is my friend Aino Minako."

"Kon'nichiwa, Aino-san," Mamoru said as he slapped his friend's shoulder. "This is my friend Furuhata Motoki."

"Kon'nichiwa, Furuhata-san," Usagi and Minako said in unison. "Nice to meet you, I'm Tsukino Usagi."

"Ah, so you're the Usagi I've heard this guy mention," Motoki grinned slyly, causing Mamoru to very faintly blush. "Call me Motoki, we're all friends here."

"Only if you call me Usagi," she shot back, the four of them laughing together.

"Isn't this great?" Motoki stated as he stared out into the field. "My four best friends are going to be superstars of the soccer game!" he laughed as he turned around and rested his arms on the railings.

"Who else plays soccer?" Minako asked as she flirtatiously smiled at him, twisting her hair around her finger as she looked interested.

"Well, besides my boy Mamoru, our friends from high school play: Yuuichiro, Urawa, and Ryo." Motoki boasted as impressed looks appeared on both the girls faces.

"Honto ne? You're friends with them? They're like, superstars!" Minako gasped as she dramatically bounced around.

"Mamoru-san, you played against them during your try-outs, right?" Usagi asked as she slipped her hands in the front pocket of the sweatshirt she was wearing. "You did really well against them, especially since they're the top three players."

"I've been playing on and off with them since high school," Mamoru responded. "Soccer really wasn't that big of an influence on my life, but they pestered me enough to play with them."

"Did they teach you everything you know?" Usagi pondered aloud, tilting her head to the side in a questionable fashion.

"Iee, actually, I've been playing soccer since I was about five or six."

"Aw, that's so cool!" Minako butted in, interrupting the trip down memory lane. "I'm famished, actually. Usagi and I were going to get something to eat before the big game; do you two want to join us?"

"I'm game, how about you, Mamoru?" Motoki grinned as he nudged his friend, who nodded in agreement.

"Yatta! Let's go!" Minako shouted as she steered the group down the busy sidewalks of the campus to the corner bistro. Motoki managed to make his way up to the front, leaving Usagi and Mamoru behind the two of them as they made their way to the restaurant.

"You know," Usagi began quietly, "I used to love playing soccer myself when I was about ten."

"R-really?" Mamoru asked in shock, his stomach twisting in anticipation of what she would refer to next.

"It was strange, though, because at the orphanage, everyone was apprehensive around me. I'd try to join in, and they would let me, but it felt like they were walking on eggshells around me as we played. I didn't really get a chance to confront the situation before I was adopted, so I didn't play much afterwards," she finished with a shrug.

"Is that why you watch it, because of a childhood memory?" he questioned, hoping that it would be the real reason why she surrounded herself around the game and not because of her boyfriend.

"Partially, yes," she admitted as she noted Minako and Motoki laughing in obvious flirtation. "But it's also because Seiya plays."

"I see," Mamoru sighed, trying to hide the hint of disappointment in his voice as the four of them approached the café.

--

Usagi walked back with Minako to the field after the group split up, not really paying attention to Minako's rambling about "how hot Motoki is." For some reason, she couldn't help but think about Mamoru and the awkwardness that arose after their discussion about her once upon a time passion for paying soccer. Did he know the reason why everyone was hesitant to play around her? She frowned the more she thought about it, and then let out a sigh of frustration.

"Usagi-chan, your face is going to stay that way if you force such a large frown on your face," Minako scolded as they approached the field.

"Har har, very funny," Usagi said as she turned in the direction of the bleachers, bumping into a tall, hard-built chest.

"Gomen ne… oh, Seiya!" she smiled as she realized it was her boyfriend. However, the smile slowly disappeared as she noticed a displeased look in Seiya's eyes.

"Usa, can I talk to you for a moment?" he asked, taking her hand and dragging her away from Minako before she had a chance to respond. Once he had her around the corner, away from earshot of Minako, he crossed his arms across his chest before he voiced his concern.

"Usa, why were you with those two guys?" he bluntly asked as he leaned up against the wall.

"Mamoru-san and Motoki-san?" she retaliated in confusion.

"Precisely Mamoru-san. You know he and I are on the same team, right?" his voice strained as a hint of anger began to show.

"Minako and I ran into them on our way to lunch, and we invited them to tag along. It was harmless," she challenged, not wanting to feel like she belonged on a leash.

"Usa, I'd prefer if you didn't hang around him," he ordered, the tone in his voice low yet forceful.

"Seiya, I can hang out with whomever I want. It's not my fault you're jealous," she spat, causing Seiya to growl in anger.

"Jealous? I'm jealous of him?" he laughed. "I'm better than he ever will be! I'm a freshman and I'm on the starting team!"

"Get over yourself, Seiya," she snapped as she walked away, rolling her eyes at his inflated ego. She was used to his temper tantrums; no matter what, though, he always came back and apologized. His pride and ego were probably the only flaws she really saw in him, considering he was in reality a sweet and caring guy. But everyone lets stuff get to their head sometime, right?

--

Six o'clock had made its way quick into the day, the air cooling off slightly while the bleachers filled quickly. Students ranging from freshman to seniors, professors and alumni alike gathered on the right side of the field, chatting about the game that was to take place within the next half hour. Both teams were on opposite ends of the field doing their warm-ups in anticipation of the big game. Usagi crowded herself with Minako, Makoto, and Rei as well as their mentor and close friend, Ami, who they had a hard time bringing along. All five girls had little pendants and school colors on as they stood up, shouting good luck to their teammates. School spirit had coursed through their veins.

A loud horn shrilled through the rising voices of the crowds, causing the noise to slowly die down. It was soon replaced with the dean of the school, welcoming both teams and wishing for a fair, yet fun game. Once his voice silenced, the crowd cheered as the timer set itself for 45 minutes, which is the length of the first period. The five girls began jumping up and down as they watched the team begin to get into position; Urawa, and Yuuichiro took their positions as their respected side-midfielder while Ryo took the position as a defensive mid-backer. Seiya proudly walked on and took his position as the right wing, while the rest of the field filled up with juniors and seniors alike. Soon both teams were on the field, ready to go, as the referee walked up and blew the whistle, signifying the beginning of the game. The crowd erupted with cheers as Tokyo U got the ball after the kickoff, and the game was well underway.

Usagi sat back down, the girls following suit, watching as the game continued to progress. The girls laughed and chatted about how school was going for them, occasionally pausing to cheer on their team, and then continue on with their gossip. About 35 minutes into the first period, gasps and silence filled the air as the referee and a medical examiner came onto the field, surrounding the center forward player, a senior named Azaya Hiroki. After about five minutes, he had his arms limped around both the referee and their coach, helping to sturdy him as he hopped off the field.

"What are we going to do now?!" a voice shrieked in the stands as Hiroki was off of the field.

"We're going to lose!" another voice cried as disappointment rippled through the field.

--

Down on the players' bench, Mamoru frowned as he watched Hiroki be escorted off of the field. He looked down at his cup of water he was sipping as he listened to groans about Hiroki and his sprained ankle, nervous that they would lose the 1-0 lead that they had on Tsukuba. The coach placed Hiroki next to Mamoru, then propped his leg up on one of the coolers and placed an ice pack on it. Sighing in frustration, he looked up at Hiroki, who was wincing in obvious pain.

"How's your ankle feeling?" Coach Tomoe asked as he briefly examined it.

"It's fine, coach, I can get back on the field," he said as he tried to stand up, wincing in pain as he attempted to move his leg.

"Slow down there, son. You brought us this far, just relax and heal up. Mamoru, you go out there," Coach Tomoe threw out in the air, causing confusion and gasps amongst the teammates.

Mamoru above all was completely dumbfounded. "Me, coach?" he asked, thinking it was a mistake.

"Yes, you. Let's see what you can do out there," he ordered as he walked away from Mamoru.

"Yes, sir," he obliged as he stood up and slid his jacket off, placing it in the vacant spot where he was once sitting. Quickly, he jogged out to the field to the position where Hiroki once stood. He immediately noticed the sound of shock and concern from the audience, but the applause soon followed as he stood his position, shooting a grin to both Urawa and Yuuichiro.

"No way, man!" Yuuichiro cheered as he overheard Mamoru's name being mentioned over the loudspeaker.

"This is way too cool, man. Let's show them what Tokyo U is all about!" Urawa said as he shot a thumbs-up to Mamoru, then hearing the whistle blow as the game commenced.

--

"No way!" a female voice shouted. "They're letting a rookie play in Hiroki's place?!"

"Hey!" Usagi shouted in the direction of the girl, "He's really good!"

"Usagi," Minako hissed, "Where did that come from?"

"Well, he is," she stated as she focused on the game.

"I don't think Seiya-san would appreciate hearing that," Rei coyly stated as she watched the guy she recognized from the bar.

"No, no he would not," she sighed as she tried to put Seiya out of her mind, interested in the game. She watched as Mamoru directed the ball in such a swift yet smooth manner, including Urawa and Yuuichiro much more than any of the center players ever allowed. The balance between the three team mates was quite obvious, as a goal was quickly placed not even a minute after Mamoru was in the game.

"Wow, he IS good!" students shouted as they cheered to the goal, the other team surprised that an unknown rookie got past such a qualified team.

"He was always good," Usagi lightly spoke as she continued to stay focused, unaware of the words that left her lips.

"How do you know?" Makoto asked, confused.

"What?" Usagi questioned, snapping back into reality.

"You said Chiba-san was always good. Have you seen him play before?" Makoto asked.

"No," she said, "at least, I don't think so."

"Usagi-chan?" Ami tenderly asked, nervous about the paling that began on Usagi's features. "Are you okay?"

"I… I think I need to sit down," Usagi stumbled as she managed to sit down, resting her head on her hands, the cheers of the crowd diminishing as she closed her eyes.

_"Usagi, you're supposed to block the ball, not let it roll past!"_

"I know, but you kick it so hard," she barely whispered as the boy with the jet black hair and blue eyes visualized in her mind attempted to puff out his chest.

_"I can't help that I'm a natural at soccer!"_

"Usagi?"

"Usagi-chan?"

"Usagi-chan, are you okay?"

Slowly opening her eyes, four nervous stares met to her confused one as the color returned to her face.

"What?" she asked as their nervousness began to visibly subside, grins replacing their once worried frowns.

"Just making sure you're okay. Come on, the first half is over; let's go get some junk food!" Minako cheered as she stood up, grabbing Usagi's hand as they squeezed their way out of the students who were cheering with delight.


	7. Chapter 7

Until You Come Back to me Again

Chapter 7: Just Friends

Rated PG-13

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon is not mine; all characters belong to Naoko Takeuchi. Envious? Very.

Summery: A/U Usagi and Mamoru grew close growing up at the local orphanage, vowing to never leave each others side. But after Usagi gets into a life-altering accident and Mamoru is adopted, will the two reconnect after years of separation?

---

He never once expected that in his college life, he would have been playing sports. His life, dedication, and goals were to study, research, and become a doctor. His mind never drifted to other women, rarely to sports, yet he just played a college game of soccer. Not just any game, either, but the homecoming game.

Then again, the news reporters, team mates, and entire college had any idea Mamoru existed until he jogged out to that field and played such a game that the crowd was in amazement. His fair sharing of the ball as well as his quick sense of direction easily brought them up two points in the first half, then another point in the second, leaving the other team scoreless. Once he walked off the field he was attacked by reporters, his teammates slapping him on the back in a congratulatory manner, and many school spirit ridden students cheering in pride over the defeat. He remembered the chanting of his name, the reporters asking him where he had been hiding, his coach with stars in his eyes, and his best friends standing proudly by his side.

It felt like a dream, but it wasn't. It really happened.

He lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling, a goofy grin on his face. It felt incredible to be out there, doing what he once loved to do most. He didn't care about the fame or popularity; in fact, it wasn't like he intended on pursuing this really that far. He felt his heart quicken at the excitement of being out on that field, doing what he loved to do: just play.

He did feel a twinge of disappointment, however, when he saw Usagi run into Seiya's arms after the game. He was secretly hoping that she'd come over to him first or even say something to him, but alas, she did not. He ran his fingers through his messy bangs as his lips formed a slight frown; he couldn't stand that Seiya character. Sure, he's Usagi's boyfriend, but even then that wasn't the sole reason. He had this aura of superiority surrounding him, and could easily see how he looked down to everyone around him who was second string or what not. Even being new, Seiya never bothered to introduce himself, just looked at him with a shunning attitude, then walked away. Not like he would have wanted to talk to the all-mighty Seiya, but still, who was he to think he's better than everyone else?

"Ugh," he grunted as he sat up, "I need to get something to eat and clear my mind."

---

"Seiya, you did so great out there!" Usagi beamed as she held on to her boyfriends extended arm as they strolled out of the campus and down the road to the slew of restaurants and shops.

"Arigato, Usa," he grinned as he steered the both of them from oncoming crowd traffic, their destination upcoming. "I'm glad you wanted to come out with me so late tonight."

"Seiya, your team just won homecoming. I wouldn't miss out on a celebratory late-night meal!" she laughed as they turned into a bustling restaurant, college kids with beers and tight-topped ladies carrying trays of hot wings and appetizers. Her eyes briefly scanning the restaurant, she tried to think back to if Seiya had even mentioned where they were going. _'Clearly he did not'_ her mind reassured her as she frowned at the display in front of her. "Ne, Seiya… uhm…"

"Gomen, Usa, in all the excitement, I never mentioned where we were going. Taiki and Yaten mentioned this place to me and a bunch of our teammates are here. This is a chain from over in America called Hooters. It's really popular over there for buffalo wings and beer, which the guys have said are outstanding and nothing like we've ever tasted before. I thought it would be fun to try it out," he smiled.

"Seiya, I don't think I feel… comfortable," she stressed as a woman in a tight top, her breasts full and protruding through the tiny shirt, lowering her tray, giving the crowd a nice view of her firm buttocks covered in orange spandex shorts. Usagi's eyes quickly diverted away from her as she saw Seiya wave to a bunch of his teammates, leading her in that direction.

"Onegai, Seiya, I think it's better I go," she quietly pleaded as she planted her feet down.

"What? How come?" he asked, disappointment laced with anger in his voice.

"This isn't my scene. You should celebrate with the boys. We can have our own celebration tomorrow," she coaxed, hoping he would approve. She grinned as he slowly nodded, received a light peck on her cheek, and watched him join his whooping team mates. Wrapping her arms around her body, feeling the need to conceal herself even more, she walked out of the restaurant. Just as she walked out of the doorway, she collided with a firm chest. "Gomen!" she cried as she bowed, "I wasn't paying attention, I'm really sorry."

"Why that's quite alright, Odango Atama," a deep voice spoke, in which Usagi responded by opening one eye and seeing Mamoru standing in front of her laughing.

"What did you just call me?!" she demanded as she stood up straight, her face twisted with disbelief that he had just called her a… a…

"Odango Atama," he grinned. "Your hair is like spaghetti and meatballs!"

"Why you, that's not very nice!" she pointed out. "If I'm an Odango Atama then you're a… a… baka!"

"Fine by me, Odango," he laughed as he dodged a weak punch coming his way from her. "Ok, ok, in all seriousness… I cannot imagine you in front of… a Hooters?"

"Yea, funny, neither can I," she pouted. "Trust me, it wasn't by choice."

"Ah, I assume your boyfriend brought you here for a celebration with the team?" he said with a touch of ice in it, pointing through the window at the table full of guys chugging beer.

"Uhm, yea," she said apprehensively, somewhat bothered that Mamoru even mentioned him. "This wasn't exactly my idea of a good time, so I'm just going to head on back to Uni."

"I see," he began nonchalantly, "Or if you want, you and I could get something to eat."

Usagi began to smile, her stomach growling from being empty. She planned on going out to eat tonight and therefore skipped dinner. It being 10:00 in the evening she was famished.

"As long as it's not a Hooters," she laughed as the two of them proceeded down the sidewalk, talking and laughing about various things.

---

"Hey, Seiya, where's Usagi-chan?" Yaten asked as he finished off his fourth beer.

"She decided to go back to the University; this restaurant isn't really her scene," he shrugged as he began to polish off another buffalo wing, not really second guessing it. She rarely went out to these kinds of places; she was more of a conservative setting type of girl.

"Hey man, your girl is the one with the buns and pigtails, right? Blonde?" one of his team mates, Daisuke, asked him.

"Yea, why?"

"Because she just walked off with the new superstar of the team," he stated as he pointed to the window, the two of them walking past and laughing.

Seiya slowly turned his head around, seeing that Daisuke's statement was indeed true. Grunting, he chugged his beer as quick as he could, trying to find an excuse not to go out there and beat the shit out of him. Quickly he concluded that he couldn't find a single one, especially since they weren't walking in the direction of the campus. Standing up, he marched to the front of the door and took a step outside, seeing the two of them laughing as they walked only two buildings down and into a sleek looking restaurant called "Black & Blue." Fuming, he looked over to his friends, who had waitresses sitting on their laps.

"Shit, if she can go have fun with another guy, I'll have some fun myself," he muttered under his breath, the alcohol in his system helping him decide that the big-breasted blonde looked like more fun than an argument with Usagi.

"Ladies, another round of beer!" he shouted, sliding his arm around the one waitress' waist at the table and plopping her in his lap, causing her to giggle as two other women ran off to grab more beer.

---

"WOW, I've never been here before!" Usagi exclaimed as her and Mamoru were seated at a small table. The restaurant, "Black & Blue," was as sleek inside as it was outside. The inside had painted black walls, neon blue lights striping the illusion of glowing wallpaper. The bar was housed in its own separate area from the restaurant, where upbeat tempo music could be heard behind doors. The tables appeared to be made out of cherry oak, housing the salt and pepper shaker, napkins, and the candle placed in the middle of the table. Everyone sitting at the tables ranged from clients to couples on dates; it was safe to say that this place had a reputation of staying sleek, meaning no funny business. Once they were settled, the hostess handed them their menus, then vanished into the crowd of waiters and waitresses.

"This place is wonderful!" she elaborated once more as she thumbed through the menu, her mouth watering at the different selections.

"I know; my friends and I occasionally come here for dinner. I hate going to all-around food chains, our mood always gets ruined by some stupid college jock who's had too much alcohol," Mamoru finished, wrinkling his nose in obvious annoyance.

"Hey, don't forget, you're a college jock now, too," she pointed out, causing him to laugh.

"Ah, so it appears I am. I guess this means I need to drink beer all the time!" he promoted as he pounded his fists against his chest, mocking masculinity.

Their laughter was interrupted when a petite brunette appeared in front of their table, grinning from ear to ear while holding a pad of paper. "Why, hello there! Welcome to Black & Blue, can I start you off with something to drink?"

"May I have sweet tea?" Usagi politely responded, then looked at Mamoru.

"Make that two," Mamoru finished as the waitress bounced away.

After a brief moment of silence while looking at their menu, Mamoru peeked over his, laughing as he watched her flip back and forth between two different pages.

"Hard decision?" Mamoru laughed as he placed his down.

"Yes!" she cried, still thumbing through, "Do I want a blackened chicken salad or do I want a steak stir fry? Both sound so delicious!"

"Spoil yourself, it's on me," Mamoru smiled as he looked over at Usagi.

"You don't have to do that, Mamoru-san, I have enough to cover myself," she assured as she went back to her debate.

"If I recall, you said you don't make a lot, so let me treat you. Please?" he asked, batting his eyes and making a cute puppy dog face.

"Well, if you are going to beg, I guess you can," she laughed, "but I get to cover dessert."

"Deal. Now make up your mind!"

---

A little over a half hour later, Usagi placed her fork down next to her plate and stretched her arms out in pure delight. "That was absolutely delicious!"

"I know, that was the best T-Bone I've had in months," Mamoru agreed as he took his last bite of baked potato.

"I'm so glad I settled on the steak stir-fry. Whatever sauce they used to make it with was simply excellent," she stated as she took a sip of her tea, a satisfied, wide grin on her face.

"Glad to be here for your food satisfaction needs," Mamoru laughed as he placed his fork down on his plate. "Now, I believe you mentioned something about dessert?"

"Hai, it's on me," Usagi nodded as she grabbed the dessert menu.

"Request? Can we have dessert another time? If I eat another bite I'm going to pop!" Mamoru pleaded as he felt his heart skip a beat to her melodic giggle.

"Thank goodness you said it before me! I didn't want to back out, but I'm completely stuffed!" Nodding in agreement, she put the menu back in the corner of the table.

Moments later the waitress came over and dropped off their check, followed by Mamoru dropping a few bills on the tabletop before the two of them headed back to Uni.

As the two of them walked quietly back to the school, Mamoru glanced over at Usagi, her hands clasped together behind her back as they grazed the sidewalks. His mind wandered to the memories of the past month and how fate dealt him a great hand. At first when all seemed hopeless, here she was, walking beside him, a friendship building. Sure, he wished with all his heart he remembered her, he wish he could just sweep her into his arms and confess how happy he was that he was with her once more; even though he was hurting on the inside in wishing he could confess that he was falling in love with her all over again, he was glad to have her in his life as a friend as opposed to nothing at all. As these thoughts raced through his mind, he began to wonder if he could have what he desired: a future with her. As he finished thinking those words, he began to realise that he didn't really know much about Usagi's plans after she got out of school. As he thought more about it, he frowned at himself for realising he didn't know that much about her since they were kids. He knew that eleven year old Usagi loved daisies and sunsets, wanted to become a preschool teacher, and loved cats. Mad with himself that he even allowed himself to do that, he broke the silence.

"Hey, Odango, what do you want to do when you're done with school?"

"I'd really like to become a pharmacist," she replied with confidence. "I originally wanted to become a pediatrician because I love kids, but to be honest, I can't handle the sight of blood," she squirmed as soon as she said the word blood. "Being a pharmacist I can still help people behind the scenes, and I absolutely love chemistry, so it seemed like a perfect fit."

"I never would have guessed a pharmacist," Mamoru said aloud, "my first impression was a teacher. But now that I think about it, I can see you as a pharmacist."

"It took a little while of indecisiveness, but after realizing I couldn't be a princess when I grew up something along the lines of science was what I really wanted to do." They shared a quick laugh before they continued on their conversation.

"Do you plan to stay around here in Tokyo?" Mamoru asked as he shoved his hands in his pockets, looking over at her as she replied to him.

"I think so. I really like it here in Tokyo, and there are so many opportunities and places to start out," she began. "But if it doesn't work out here, I would be willing to go where they needed me. The cost of a dream, right?"

"I completely agree," he nodded.

"What do you want to do, Mamoru-san?"

"I'm actually studying to become a pediatrician, of all coincidences," he laughed. "I used to volunteer at the orphanage in Hiroshima and I absolutely love little kids, and what better way to put that to use than helping them out when they're sick?"

"That's impressive, Mamoru-san," she boasted as she shoved her unclasped her hands and slid them in her pockets. "Have you always wanted to be a doctor?"

"Hai, I knew since I was about thirteen that it was what I really wanted to do. I'm very thankful for my parents for giving me such an education that allows me to pursue it."

"Are you going to go back to Hiroshima?" she quietly asked, her heart unknowingly pounding in anticipation as to where he may go.

"It depends, really. I'd love to stay in Tokyo, but I know if I can't get anything here my mentor has already promised me work up there."

"That sounds wonderful," she said as unknown relief fluttered through her body. For some reason, and she had no idea why it bugged her, she was very glad he had intentions of staying around here.

Within a moments time the two of them reached the dorms, where goodnights were inevitable. After waving goodbye and approximately a dozen thank you's, the two headed in different direction to their separate buildings. Exhausted, Usagi climbed the three flights of stairs to the dorm room she shared with Rei and Minako, anticipating passing out on her bed. Once she reached the floor, she rounded to corner to see Seiya standing next to the doorway, his arms crossed, and his expression full of anger.

"I thought you were going home, Usa," Seiya growled as she approached him.

"I was, but I didn't eat, so I grabbed a bite with a friend," she said as she tried to walk past him, but he held his arm out in front of the door to block her. "What's your problem?" she asked, confused.

"I saw you go off with him," he spat out. "Is his company more enjoyable than mine?"

"Seiya, calm down, he is no more than a friend," Usagi tried to reason, seeing that her boyfriend was seriously pissed off.

"Somehow, Usa, I'm starting not to believe it."

"What do you mean?" she questioned, dumbfounded.

"I've seen you guys talk, I've seen you two go out, now you're choosing to go out with him over me," he pointed out, his voice beginning to fill with concern.

"Seiya, he's just a friend, a new friend at that. There is no reason for concern," she tried to sooth him as his eyes gave her a serious look.

"Do you have feelings for him?" he bluntly asked, catching Usagi off guard.

"No, I don't," she retorted, although the words coming out of her mouth sounded very foreign to her ears. Once the sentence had left her mouth, her heart started beating a mile a minute, like it was trying to tell her "yes, you do, but you won't admit it."

"Okay, Usa, I'm sorry I overreacted. I trust you," he said as he tilted her chin up for a kiss goodnight. As she closed his eyes to intercept his kiss, her heart began to squeeze in agony as her mind began to wonder if she really was falling out of love with Seiya… and falling for Mamoru.


	8. Chapter 8

Until You Come Back to Me Again

Chapter 8: A Piece of the Puzzle

Rated: PG-13

Disclaimer: I do not, nor would I ever be able to afford owning Sailormoon and all the characters that were created by Naoko Takeuchi.

Summery: A/U Usagi and Mamoru grew close growing up at the local orphanage, vowing to never leave each others side. But after Usagi gets into a life-altering accident and Mamoru is adopted, will the two reconnect after years of separation?

--

Fiddling with her keys, Usagi let out a deep sigh as she proceeded to unlock her door and merge her way through the tiny dorm room. Weaving through the laundry baskets filled with clothing, the oversized couch that was way too big for the tiny common room, and the dozens of pairs of shoes in every nook and cranny, she finally made it to the wooden door that opened to the small room that housed her books and bed. Opening it, she was greeted by posters of her favorite J-Pop singers, her textbooks scattered over her desk, and the small twin-sized bed with her feather down comforter. Tossing her keys on her nightstand, she quickly plopped onto the bed, running her fingers through her bangs as her head landed on her pillow.

"What a night," she muttered to herself, unhappy with the way the evening ended. She rolled over and looked at the clock, the bold red numbers reading 11:45 at night. Groaning, she rolled back over onto her backside as she stared at the ceiling, her mind trying to process the millions of thoughts that were running through it.

Her mind quickly drifted to Mamoru; here was this guy, a third-year college student, hanging around a freshman. This guy aspires to become a pediatrician, loves kids, is dedicated to his studies, and yet, is a fantastic sportsman and has a charming personality. Her heart began to flutter as she began to picture him in his mind, a goofy grin appearing on her face as she admitted he was indeed really attractive. Everyone who she ran into that usually wanted to study medicine was lanky, nerdish, or very closed-minded and kept to themselves, but Mamoru, he was well toned, muscular, tall, had well styled hair, and those eyes… she knew if she looked in them long enough, she could easily get lost in them. A giggle quietly escaped her mouth as she felt like a school girl again, daydreaming about the cute guy in the back of the classroom. Back in high school, she used to always giggle about Seiya.

Seiya… once her mind drifted over to him, she rolled onto her left side, wondering about the relationship she was committed to. Seiya was smart too in his own ways; he had a musical bone in his body, could be romantic at times by writing her poetry, but he had such a temper. Over the year she learned how to deal with his temper, but even then, it still bothered her that he could get so angry with her so easily. As she did with Mamoru, she began to picture Seiya in her mind. Seiya, too, was tall and had some muscle, had a smile that could charm any girl, and had the long, silky black hair. He, too, also had blue eyes, but no where near as alluring as Mamoru's were…

"Ugh," she growled aloud as she rolled face-first into her pillow, not knowing why her mind continued to backtrack to the guy that was supposed to be her friend. Why couldn't she stop thinking about him? What is it about him that draws her to him? If she was a moth and he was a flame, she would easily get burned.

"Seiya, I'm in a relationship with Seiya, I love Seiya," she began to chant; her heart squeezing in agony each time his name left her lips. Restless, she proceeded to sit up on her bed and lean against the white wall of the tiny bedroom, not wanting to admit that she was falling for Mamoru. She knew she didn't easily fall for guys; six years of not caring about dating - her heart telling her each time someone asked her out that she was waiting for someone – she wondered why it was so quick for her to be crushing on Mamoru.

Her mind entered another memory as she thought about how her and Seiya began dating; sure, he asked her to the Valentines Day dance senior year and she agreed, but the more she recalled the memory, she remembered the hesitant feeling she ignored when she accepted being Seiya's girlfriend. _'Why did I ignore that feeling, anyway?'_ she asked herself as she tried to find the answer. Was it because she didn't want to lose the friendship, or was it because she really did like him? Maybe the reason she finally gave in and began dating her senior year was because she didn't want to remember high school as being the girl who only studied, wanting to go out and have the fun a normal seventeen year old girl did. It sounded awful as her mind hypothesized these ideas, and admitting to it made her feel lousy, but she really did wonder if those were the real reasons.

Trying to shake off the thought of Seiya and her first dating, her mind drifted back to Mamoru once again. Thinking about the times they hung out, she couldn't understand why it was so easy for her to open up and laugh around him without a second thought. Although her personality was described by many that she could easily be friends with anyone, Mamoru was different. She felt like she befriended him on a whole different level, almost the level that Minako, Rei, Makoto, and Ami were on. But at the same time, it was a completely different feeling; the compatibility and comfort she felt with him was through the roof, almost like she knew him before she actually met him.

As she finished her last thought, she felt a sharp, throbbing pain on the back of her head. Carefully, she lightly touched the bump that was forever housed on her skull, the gentleness of the touch still managing to shoot a sharp pain through her mind. Slowly, tears welled in her eyes as the pain continue to throb. Why was it that lately, this sharp pain would shoot through her mind? What does it mean? Is something wrong with her? Lying down on her pillow, she turned her light off and buried her head under her pillow, trying to ignore the pounding echoing in her head.

--

_"Mama?" a seven year old girl quietly said into the still air, holding a stuffed gray cat close to her chest as she tiptoed into her Mother's bedroom._

_"Mama?" she said again, a little louder, as she approached the bedside, seeing her mother lay in her bed, appearing to be asleep. Gently, she touched her Mother's arm and gave it a light squeeze, hoping to stir the sleep-deprived woman. When nothing happened, she gave her a light shake, but again, she didn't move a muscle._

_"Mama?" she said for the third time, her voice louder, finally climbing into the bed. She grasped her Mother's shoulders and tried shaking her harder, but she still didn't stir. _

_"MAMA!" she screamed as she tried jumping on the bed, her heart thumping wildly as she felt her stomach churn that something was seriously wrong. Shortly, the jumping was dismissed, and she fell to her knees as she crawled over to her Mom, lying up against her._

_"Why won't you wake up, Mama?" she tearfully asked the limp woman, her violet tresses falling softly over the edge of the bed. A few moments later, she crawled out of her Mother's bed, and using her school knowledge, decided to call 911. They taught her that in cases like this, it's okay to call 911 and someone will be there to help you. Once she hung up the phone after speaking with someone, she walked towards the door and sat on the front step, quietly waiting for someone to come and help her. She looked down at her feet for a few minutes before a shadow hovered over her petite body. Slowly looking up, she noticed that her step-dad, Fujitaka, was standing in front of her._

_"Fuji-papa?" she fearfully asked, the smell of his beer radiating from his body. _

_"Why are you outside, Usagi? Go inside, you know you're not supposed to be outside you little shit," he cursed as he grabbed her wrist, a yelp of pain being his response from her._

_"I'm sorry Fuji-papa," she apologized quietly, "I was just…"_

_"You were just not thinking, like the retarded little shit you are," he muttered. "Go make yourself useful and grab me a beer."_

_Nodding quietly, she hurried over to the fridge and opened it, noticing that there weren't any left. She looked back over to the drunk man she called her step-father, then hesitantly, she walked back over to him empty handed. _

_"Fuji-papa, there isn't any more," she sputtered out. She watched him get up, his tall frame intimidating her as she began to back into the corner. She knew what came next when she delivered bad news to him._

_"Fuji-papa, please don't. Something's wrong with Mama, please check up on Mama!" she cried. Just as soon as the hand was raised, a knock came and interrupted the swinging motion of what would be a slap to the cheek. Grunting, he turned around and reluctantly answered the door, where two uniformed policemen stood on the front step. _

_"Sir, we received a phone call from this residence, we're just checking up to make sure that everything is under control," the first officer, his nametag reading "Nakashima" stated._

_"Uh, yes, sir, I apologize, I had no idea that there was a phone call," Fujitaka stated – more so slurred – as he tried to shut the door, but the second officer, his nametag reading "Futomi", stopped him._

_"Sir, we were informed that the woman of the household was sick. Is it okay if we speak with her before we can leave?" _

_"Uhm, she's not here," he said a little too quickly._

_Frowning, Officer Nakashima tried to take a peak inside, noticing a girl no more than seven with pigtails shuddering in the corner, tears streaming down her eyes. He looked back at the father, utterly disgusted with the way he reeked of alcohol, and decided that he needed to take a look around before he felt this place was safe again._

_"Sir, I apologize but we need to come in and speak with your wife," he stated._

_"Officer I already said she ain't here," he grunted._

_"Then you won't mind if we wait inside?" he challenged._

_"Yes, I do. This is my property now get off."_

_"Sir, I apologize but I refuse to leave the premises."_

_"Excuse me," a small, feminine voice spoke through the bickering between the two men._

_"Hi there, angel," Officer Futomi said as he kneeled in front of her, "Are you the one who called us?" _

_She quietly nodded, holding tightly onto her stuffed cat._

_"Can you tell me why, angel?"_

_"Mama's not moving," she said quietly. "She's in the bed, not moving."_

_Officer Nakashima, now seriously pissed off, pushed the drunkard off to the side. "Sir, we have to get to your wife now. This is an emergency."_

_Usagi followed behind the two men as they walked down a narrow hallway, voices from a television emitting from a room at the back of the hallway. As soon as they walked in, they noticed the pale woman lying limp on the bed. Nakashima immediately rushed by her side and put his head to her chest, and when he realized she wasn't breathing he put his two fingers to her throat. _

_"Holy shit," he muttered under his breath. He took a step back, staring down at the cold, numb body of the woman. Bowing his head before reaching for his phone to call for an ambulance, he began to close his eyes when a crimson strain caught his eye. Kneeling down to the bedside, he gently touched the stain, and when he lifted his hands, his fingers were covered in what appeared to be blood. _

_"Where the fuck is he," Futomi stated, darting out of the room as Nakashima hastily stood up and rolled the woman's body over. Right in her back was a knife that hadn't been bothered to remove. _

_"MAMA?!" Usagi cried as she burst in the room, watching everything, seeing the knife in the middle of her mother's back, the blood seeping everywhere. The last thing she remembered before sobbing her heart out was Nakashima picking her up and getting her out of the room, her mother murdered in the bedroom, shrieking her name over and over again_.

--

Startled, Usagi immediately sat up in a cold sweat, tears streaming down her eyes profusely. Her arms were covered in goose bumps, rubbing them quickly to diminish them while the echo of crying out 'mama' rang in her mind.

"Oh my Goodness," she whispered into the dark. Hastily, she jumped out of bed and slid a pair of sweatpants over her pajama shorts, grabbed her student ID card and swept out of her bedroom. She practically flew down the stairs and out of the dormitory building, her destination being the campus library. The dream continued to repeat vividly in her mind as she walked down, her heart set on looking up on the internet any murders in Japan approximately ten years ago.

"Please let that be a dream, I beg of you, just a sick, twisted dream," she whispered to nobody in particular as she approached the doors of the library, pushing on the heavy wood, entering a realm that smelled of old textbooks with the whirring sounds of the computers. Swiftly, she walked over to a free computer, sat down on the provided chair, and swiped her school ID in the machine reader to grant her access to the World Wide Web.

"Thank Goodness the library is open 24 hours" she exasperated as she clicked open the search feature on the computer. Quickly, she typed in "murders in Tokyo, Japan in 1996," and when her search was inconclusive, she let out a breath of quick relief. But to cover all her grounds, she took out Tokyo and just left Japan, then clicked the search button once again. She took in a sharp breath when she read "Murderer in Quiet Town Sentenced to Life in Jail" as the first link, and hesitantly, she clicked it.

_April 21, 1998. Many residents in Kawaguchi remember to this day the murder that was in their quiet town, and to this day, still grieve over the loss of Sachiko Irene, a loving mother and an active member of the community. Her murderer and husband, Sachiko Fujitaka, was sentenced today in court for life in prison with out parole, any many people in the small town celebrated his sentencing in memory of Irene. As many in the small town know and miss, Irene left behind a daughter – Himeko Usagi – who with no known relatives was placed in child services in Japan…_

As Usagi read that, she felt sick to her stomach. "It could be a coincidence, right?" she stammered under her breath, then backtracked to the search menu and typed in "Sachiko murder" instead. This time, many results populated, and as she clicked them all, she read "Himeko Usagi" and "child services," her mouth feeling drier and drier the more she read these. Unable to take it anymore, she bolted out of the library, ran out into the cool, crisp night, and when she reached a bench, she collapsed on it and sobbed her heart out, the painful experience she hadn't remembered for so long being the first to surface since she was struck seven years ago.

--

A few days had past and Usagi never showed up to Chemistry, which bothered Mamoru quite a bit. She didn't seem like the kind of person who would ever skip a class, and the way she talked about chemistry, he knew she wouldn't miss this class more than two days at least. But being day three, he was beginning to worry. He was making sure to take excellent notes full of detail so she could copy them as he did hers the first day, but still, nothing is the same as when you're there absorbing the information yourself. He hoped that he would run into her somewhere, hoping everything was okay. Once the teacher dismissed them, he stuffed his textbook and notebook in his bag and headed over to the coffee shop, where he went to go meet up with the guys and their girls around coffee and fresh baked cookies, like every Friday afternoon. He frowned as he realized how feminine it sounded, but those cookies were to die for! Once he walked out of the science building, the autumn wind and sunshine combo welcomed him as he made his way to the coffee shop. Out of the corner of his eye, though, walking to the coffee shop he noticed Motoki walking along side a tall blonde haired girl with a red bow holding back some of her hair. i 'Wasn't that Usagi's friend?' he asked himself as he continued walking over. Sure enough, the two of them went into the coffee shop together, and through the window, he saw them sit down with Ryo, Urawa, and Yuuichiro, and whichever girls they were with this week. Not a moment later he joined them, staring down Motoki with a crooked eyebrow, clearly wanting an explanation why he was here with her. And as he expected, all he got of out him was a 'none of your business' smirk.

"Hello, Mamoru-san," Minako smiled as she grasped the cappuccino mug that was just placed in front of her.

"Hello, Minako-chan," he greeted, nodding in recognition. "How is everything?"

"It's going," she shrugged as she tucked a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear, "Yourself?"

"Same as usual," he nodded as he reached for one of the cookies in the middle of the table. "How is Usagi, she hasn't been in class as of late."

Minako immediately frowned, signifying that something was indeed wrong. Her mind flashed back to the other night, hearing Usagi sobbing, herself and Rei letting themselves in to try and comfort her. At first, they had assumed Seiya and she had split up due to how distressed she was, but when they learned that a repressed memory had surfaced, they felt their own hearts break as they heard the horror story she told between sobs, then they stayed with her until she finally fell asleep.

"I really can't discuss it, Mamoru-san; all I can really say is that she's really distressed about something. She should be fine in a few more days."

Mamoru nodded, frowning that he could not obtain more information, but not wanting to press the issue, he simply nodded his head. "I have notes that she can copy if you want to hand them off to her." When she nodded, he took his notebook out of his bag and handed it to her, Minako placing it in her own bag.

"Daijobu, Mamoru-san, she'll be alright," she reassured, the obvious concern on his face relaxing only slightly as the topic quickly changed amongst the group of friends.

--

In the dark, small bedroom, Usagi lay on her bed, curled up in her sweats as she snuggled with her blanket. She couldn't seem to grasp the concept as to why her mother was murdered, although it did explain why she did land in the orphanage. It hurt so much that her first recalled memory was of this situation, and she had began to wonder if more terrible things happened throughout her childhood. If only she knew someone who could help walk her through more of these memories, to see how she got through the pain and emptiness of losing the person she shared her blood with.

Closing her eyes once more, she tried to recall anything else regarding her past, but all she hit was a wall of darkness; she couldn't remember being at the orphanage prior to age eleven. Tears slowly streaming down her cheeks once more, she wished with all her heart that she could remember the rest of the pieces to the puzzle of her life.


	9. Chapter 9

Until You Come Back to me Again

Chapter 9: Breakthrough

Rated PG-13

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon is not mine. Sailor Moon and all the characters within the series belong to Naoko Takeuchi.

Summery: (A/U) Usagi and Mamoru grew close, growing up together in the local orphanage, never wanting to each others side. But after Usagi gets into a life-altering accident and Mamoru is adopted, will the two reconnect after years of separation?

A/N: Hi everyone, thank you to those who continued to review this story even though I took FOREVER to update it. I could use the lame excuses that all of us authors use, but it simply came from lack of inspiration to finish this chapter. It took me over a year to finally come up with an idea that could bring back my muse! There are only going to be two more chapters left to this story, which I'm going to be ever so slightly revising along the way (not deleting chapters and then reposting them like some authors do in order to up their review count) to correspond with, well, stupid errors I've made as well as using various editing techniques I've picked up in my creative writing courses since last winter. I hope you guys like this new chapter… I even included a bit of a cliffhanger to bring you back for more. Mwahaha!

PS - Don't mind my quirky coffee comments down below. You'll notice I swiped from from movies/tv shows :D

---

_For a diene to undergo Diels-Alder reaction it must…_

"Hey man, you got any packing tape left over!?!" Ryo shouted from the common room, his voice carrying itself through the crack of his shut bedroom door.

_a. be substituted with electron-withdrawing groups…_

"Yea, man, here!" Yuuichiro's equally-as-loud voice chimed in, followed by a large clanking sound against the hardwood floors.

_b. be able to adopt an s-trans conformation…_

"Dude how was your last final?" Ryo asked as the stripping noise of packing tape intertwined with his voice.

_c. be substituted with electron-donating groups…_

"Dude, it sucked! I swear half of the questions on there were not even covered in any review!" Yuuichiro complained, the plopping noise of a heavy box hitting the floor soon following his statement.

_or d. be able to adopt the s-cis conformation…_

"Hey, you're talking about Huong's final, right?" Motoki's voice joined in as he dropped a stack of boxes, the weight of the load from the boxes causing vibration through the walls.

"Yea, man, what was up with that?"

"You do realize most of his questions he gets from the footnotes, right?"

"Are you serious? Shit, That's not fair!"

_I'm going to say it's d: be able to adopt th-----_

"Sucks for you, dude!"

Sighing in frustration, Mamoru tossed his study guide and stood up, his concentration completely ruined. Yanking his bedroom door open, he looked at his three suite-mates, exhaustion and anger reflecting in his eyes.

"Guys, I know you're done with finals and are going home, but SOME of us have a SATURDAY final and don't get to LEAVE tonight," Mamoru exasperated, quickly getting the message across as he turned around and slammed his door.

The voices now barely above a whisper, Mamoru picked his book up and circled choice d, then proceeded on to the next question.

_Which of the following would give a positive Tollens Test… a. CH3CH2COCH3, b. CH3CH=CH-CH=CH-OH..._

Groaning in frustration, he placed the book down again, his head pounding from all of the questioning he had been doing all afternoon and evening. Of all classes, he took the class that was one of the only few to have Saturday finals, meaning while everyone went home yesterday, the day before, tonight, or tomorrow, he was going to wind up stuck on a deserted campus for at least a night before he could go home to Hiroshima for the holidays. Luckily all of his packing only involved clothing, some CD's, and his computer gear since his dorm room wouldn't change until the spring, but the hassle of packing alone to go home for a month was stressful on top of studying. In fact, he hadn't bothered to pack a single thing yet, meaning he would most likely wind up staying another night, disconnecting his computer, packing up the cords… he let out another groan as he rested his head against the cool window looking out to the campus sidewalks. Looking outside, he saw groups of students with boxes and suitcases, giving hugs to their friends, waving as they walked away, the snow cascading around them as they walked off into the parking lots. He sighed in envy; he loved being home in Hiroshima when the snow was falling, being in Tokyo did no justice to the sight of the mountains topped off with snow. He was looking forward to going home to rest up for the next semester, considering it would be the last semester before he put in his application for medical school, and he needed to do his best to go to the best.

Stretching his cramp muscles out, he grabbed his jacket and scarf and quickly slid it on; he was in need of a serious coffee break if he was going to continue to study. Opening his bedroom door, he quietly snuck out of the room, not wanting the guys to know he was gone so they could continue to shout and laugh and ugh… the memories were already giving him a headache. After successfully making his way to the hallway, he proceeded down to the coffee cart in front of the library.

---

Usagi sighed as she looked around the library, the bittersweet silence welcoming her. As she walked in, she sat down at the table near the heater, placing her study guide and notes down as she slid her winter coat off. Taking a seat, she opened her study guide and notes, and began to read aloud the questions.

"For a diene to undergo Diels-Alder reaction it must: a. be substituted with electron-withdrawing groups, b. be able to adopt an s-trans conformation, c. be substituted with electron-donating groups, or d. be able to adopt the s-cis conformation. Hm…"

As she thought about the answer, her mind wandered for a moment, thankful that the library was empty for her to read the questions out loud, and then snapped back as she tried to process the choices.

"That's easy, The Diels-Alder reaction must occur with s-cis stereochemistry on the diene, so its d. Ha!" she smiled as she circled "d" on her guide, and then worked her way down the guide. She didn't even get to start the next question when she heard knocking against the glass, causing her to look up. There was Mamoru, smiling as he pointed to the coffee cart, signifying for her to come out and join him. Lightly smiling, she shook her head no and waved her hand, hoping he would take the hint to leave her be for studying. One pet peeve of hers was that she hated anyone who came around her when she was studying, even Ami, who studied just as quietly, she couldn't take the tension of someone being around her. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw him nod his head and walk away, and then made her way back down to the question.

"Which of the following would give a positive Tollens Test: a…."

Throwing her head back and slumping in her chair, her mind was officially distracted by the junior who she had become quite friendly with this passing semester. She frowned as she knew she shouldn't be thinking of him, but couldn't help the rush her body felt whenever she thought of his genuine smile. He was always there, studying with her, offering her help, buying her coffee… even through the one-month period of confusion and silence, he was there, silently helping her by slipping her his notes. Sure, it took her a little while to catch up and a lot of extra studying, but she finally got to the point where her classes were back up to where she should be and her grieving was minimal.

Continuing to think about his generosity to help her out, she began to wonder if she even thanked him for the extra effort he put in to help her catch up. As she looked outside the window, she watched the snow dance with the wind, student going home for the holidays to be with their families, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Mamoru walking back towards the window with his coffee. She gave him a gentle smile and a wave, and he waved back, walking in the distance to his dorm. She continued to stare off, the snow spiraling all around, and it gave her an idea. She smiled the biggest grin, then went back to her studies, a plan formulating in her mind.

---

"That... was brutal," Mamoru sighed as he slid off his jacket and placed it on the back of the chair before pulling it out to take a seat.

"It was really tough, much tougher than I expected," Usagi agreed as she followed suit, placing her jacket on the chair and taking a seat.

"Well, at least the days of organic chemistry studying are over!" Mamoru grinned as he stretched his arms out. "The holidays are now right around the corner, we get to go home, and I can sleep right up until we have to be back for round 2!"

"You mean the joys of Organic Chem 2? Not much to look forward to, but I'm with you on the sleeping in portion." After reached over for the menu that was propped up in the condiments holder, she began to scan the varieties of lattes and coffee flavors sprawled out on the laminated sheet. "It's amazing. Twenty years ago people simply drank coffee, now we can make orange mocha frappuchino's in the blink of an eye."

"Orange mocha frappuchino's? That sounds like a disgusting combination." Raising one eye, Mamoru snatched the menu from Usagi's hands and scanned down the list himself. "Gingersnap White Mocha Latte? With gingerbread crystals? Why would I want to drink a crystal?"

"Tis the season to drink oddly flavored coffee, Mamoru-san. I'm pretty partial to the candy cane coffee, actually. It has just enough peppermint in there to think you're actually sucking on one, but you're drinking coffee."

"Sorry, but I'll always be loyal to the lone pot of regular, black coffee. No cream, no milk, no sugar, just strong and black." He plopped the menu down on the table in front of him and glanced out of the large window that their table was propped up against, staring at the spiraling snow. "Can you believe it's already winter? It was only a few months ago I was playing soccer and now you can't even see the field."

"I know, Seiya was honestly saying the same thing. He can't stand training in the gym. Claims that it's too overbearing with stereotypical bodybuilders on steroids."

His light hearted smile turned into a quick frown. Of course she'd mention Seiya; hell, they played together. His thoughts wandered off as he thought about Seiya and Usagi. He hadn't seen the two of them around each other a lot, actually. He was silently hoping that they had a breakup, hence the period of time she spent isolated in her room a few months ago, but apparently not. He hadn't heard her mention him in quite some time, actually.

"So, you and Seiya are still good?" He didn't want to ask, but he didn't not want to know.

"Yup. Actually, we're celebrating our anniversary in a few weeks by going skiing in Yuzawa, so that should be fun."

"Skiing? I never would have pinned you as a skier," Mamoru chucked, shaking his head.

"Why not?! I'll let you know I am very athletic, I actually played volleyball with Minako in high school for a while!"

"Okay, okay, I apologize!" He raised his hands up in mock surrender, hoping that he didn't offend her. "Seriously, I'm sorry."

Smiling, Usagi was about to laugh it off until something caught her eye. She didn't know why her eyes decided to focus on it, but it stuck out when Mamoru's arms raised in his mock-surrender. It was probably the ugliest, most discolored thing she had ever seen, a dirty, braided bracelet tied around his wrist, but it nagged at her.

"What's that on your wrist?" She didn't know why she felt the need to ask, but it chewed at her mind. She immediately caught his facial expression, melting from one of happiness to surprise, shock even. His eyes darted between hers and the faded bracelet on his wrist, making her bubble more with confusion and questions.

"This?" he practically choked out, shaking his wrist to move the object in question. Shaking her head yes, he was at a loss for words. How was he to explain to her that this discolored, faded bracelet on his wrist actually came from her? That he never took it off because he loved her still to this day? Choosing his words carefully, he forced himself to speak. "This… came from someone very special."

"Really?"

"Yea… it came from a girl who I've been in love with since we were kids." He could feel his mouth go dry as his stomach twisted, unable to bear the look of confusion in her face. He knew that she didn't remember and talking about it hurt that much more. "Damnit, where is that waitress?" He couldn't continue to talk about the subject.

"That's admirable, Mamoru-san, to love someone for so long and continue to wear that. I respect that, it's so romantic." She tossed him a smile, but inside it bothered her. She should have known that such a great guy had someone who he was in love with. Then again, she shouldn't even be concerned about another woman in his life; she was in love with Seiya. Seiya... Seiya... She tossed another glance to the bracelet before a powerful headache overcame her senses. She squeezed her eyes shut, the sudden splitting pain silencing her thoughts.

"Miss? What would you like?"

"Huh?" Looking over, she noticed the waitress finally approached their table. "Uhm, actually, I have to go. I'm sorry, Mamoru-san, but I need to get back. Have a nice break, bye." She grabbed her coat and fled the small shop, leaving Mamoru at the table with a confused look on his face. She needed air, she needed silence, and she needed to lie down. Running through the snow, the painful sensations continued to pierce, her vision blurring as it became harder to run. She grabbed her head, a piercing noise overcoming all senses, causing her to tumble down to her knees as she grasped her head.

"Oh, Kami-sama," she cried as she doubled over in pain, the intensity too overbearing to handle. Ever since she started school these intense headaches overcame her at random times, each one becoming stronger, more painful. Each one brought a sudden flashback from her past, reveling pieces of information that had been sealed away since her accident. The last one uncovered was about her mother's murder and her stepfather's imprisonment. Before that, random images of flowers, sunlight, fields, smiles, and blue eyes. What now? What would come now?

Everything felt warm suddenly, soothing the pounding in her head, causing her to somewhat relax her tensed muscles. Muffled noises were breaking through the piercing noise in her mind, which she soon identified as Mamoru's. She couldn't quite hear what he was saying; it sounded something like Usa-ka… Usa-ki…. Usa-ko?

_"Stop, Mamo-chan, it tickles!"_

_"Gee, Usa-ko, everything tickles you…"_

She felt sick, like she could throw up everywhere. Two voices echoing in her ear, calling her Usa-ko, her calling someone Mamo-chan, Mamo-chan… Mamo…

"Mamoru?" she muttered under her breath, trying to answer her own riddle.

"Usagi-chan! Kami-sama, are you alright?!" She opened her eyes, sapphire orbs meeting her own.

"Mamoru-san?"

"Hai, Usagi-chan, are you okay? You bolted out of the café and suddenly collapsed." Slowly, he helped lift her off of the snow covered sidewalk to her feet, keeping a firm grip on her as she readjusted her balance.

"Thank you, Mamoru-san. I'm sorry about that," she slowly said as she tried to calm the rushing sensations in her body, to calm down the two voices that continued to echo in her mind.

"No, no, Usagi-chan, I'm just glad that you're okay." He began to dust off Usagi's coat, but her question startled him enough to cause him to freeze on the spot.

"Mamoru-san, did we know each other before this? Were we friends in the orphanage?"

"Wh-what?" Widening from shock, he stared at Usagi, who averted her eyes to the ground before she began to speak softly.

"When I was in the orphanage, around the time I was eleven I was in a car accident. Some drunken man apparently hit me when I was playing soccer with a bunch of the kids one afternoon, which resulted in my total memory loss. When I got back, I had no memories of my friends, family, or even the women who took care of me at the orphanage. But lately… ever since coming here, pieces of my past continue to resurface, which are accompanied with a splitting, painful headache." She looked back up at Mamoru, her eyes glassed over with tears, her voice beginning to crack. "A few months ago, during the time I wanted to be alone, I had a dream, one that helped me to remember why I was placed in an orphanage, about my Mother's murder. It hurt so much, finally remembering the truth of why I was left alone in this world. And just now, I guess when you grabbed me and called my name, it sounded like you said Usa-ko, and it triggered something, two voices in my head where the boy called me Usa-ko and I called him Mamo-chan." She paused for a moment, the tears finally flowing freely down her rosey cheeks. "Tell me, Mamoru, were you Mamo-chan? Did we know each other?"

He looked her, milliions of thoughts running through his mind. He wanted more than anything for her to remember him, and here it was, a chance for her to know everything about their past, about his devotion to her, about how she inspired him. Yet, he never would have thought of if she even wanted to remember. He never once considered that remembering their past would also include the recollition of her tormented childhood, her isolation, and her pain of losing her mother. As he looked at her tear-stained face, her cornflower blue eyes full of sorrow and confusion, he knew he couldn't lie to her anymore. She didn't deserve to not know anything, especially when the truth was right here. Slowly, he nodded his head for confirmation, speaking the one word that would forever alter their newly developed friendship. "Yes."


	10. Chapter 10

Until You Come Back to me Again

Chapter 10: Revelations

Rated PG-13

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon is not mine. Sailor Moon and all the characters within the series belongs to Naoko Takeuchi.

Summery: (A/U) Usagi and Mamoru grew close, growing up together in the local orphanage, never wanting to each others side. But after Usagi gets into a life-altering accident and Mamoru is adopted, will the two reconnect after years of separation?

A/N: Again, I'm sorry for the long-long-long delay. And again, no excuses. I could say "yea, I just graduated college and bought a house and I'm planning a wedding and I relocated," but I know that in between that, I had countless hours to write up a chapter. So instead, I'm doing it at work :P Actually, I was inspired to write this after finishing Nicholas Sparks' Dear John last night… good book and I do say, read it! I hope you enjoy this second to last installment (or so I'm planning). Also, I revamped chapter 1. It makes a LOT more sense now. Thank goodness for creative writing workshops :)

---

"Yes?"

"Yes."

"I don't understand," she said, confusion etched across her face.

"We befriended each other after you arrived at the Home. I was seven and you were fi–"

"I don't understand why you wouldn't _tell _me," she sputtered. "Mamoru-san, why wouldn't you tell me that you knew me? It makes absolutely no sense!"

Watching her face express dozens of emotions – confusion, sadness, anger, bewilderment – he couldn't muster the words as to why he didn't tell her. Sure, he had his excuses, but in the end, did they even matter?

"I, I thought I was helping you by not saying anything," he lamented.

"By what, purposely avoiding telling me that we once knew each other? Or that we were friends? It makes no sense! What were you protecting me from, aside from the truth?"

"After I figured out that you didn't remember me, I thought it was best to not force a friendship out of you by stating that I knew you before your accident. I had a feeling that if you didn't remember me, then you didn't remember anything prior to it, and I just thought that –"

"Thought what? That it was better that I didn't know? Keep me in the dark? I've been confused about what happened to me for seven years. Seven years, Mamoru-san. Do you have any idea what it is like not knowing anything about your childhood? I have no memories about time spent with my Mother. I couldn't remember my friends from the Home, and as a result I would up being the stand-alone kid because I didn't know how to interact with them. Everyone was afraid to go near me because I was 'poor Usagi-chan, lost her memory and doesn't know me.' It wasn't fair for you to keep that from me, especially for months."

The silence loomed over them for a moment. Mamoru couldn't blame her at all for her anger. At first, he thought it was to protect her from painful memories, but then it became more than that. He wanted her to remember him, to remember what they had.

"Usagi, I'm not going to lie to you," he said. She looked at him expectantly, as if she was waiting for the transcript of their past. He suddenly became aware of how cold it was outside as the snow fell around them. The chill matched the fear inside of him; fear that after he told her everything he would lose her.

"Back when you were five, you came to the Home after your mother's murder. I remember coming up to you and telling you that your hair looked funny, like spaghetti and meatballs. At first you were angry that I made fun of you, but after I asked you what happened and you told me, we began to talk. You were my best friend there and we were always together. I don't know why, but I had this need to protect you, and those feelings grew throughout the years. The day before your accident, I had met with the Chiba's and you had asked me..." he paused for a moment, trying to figure out how to word, "you asked me if I was leaving you. I was thirteen and had given up all hope that anyone would want to take a teenager home. Plus, I didn't want to leave you behind. I didn't want to separate from you. By then, it was more than a feeling of protecting you, it developed into something I couldn't explain. I told you that I would never leave you, that we would be together. That's when you tied the bracelet around my wrist. You asked me to promise you that I would stay by your side. That by the time we were old enough, we would leave the Home and be together."

He felt his stomach knot as her eyes widened. "I, I gave you the bracelet?"she asked.

"Yea, that's probably why your memory triggered."

"Oh," she whispered quietly.

"Usagi, your accident, that moment, I saw it happen. That memory has been seared into my mind and I doubt I will ever forget a single moment of it. And ironically enough, I was adopted by the Chiba's the same afternoon. I had always hoped that one day you would have contacted me, but as the years went on, I knew you didn't remember me. Part of me was angry, part of me was sad, but at the same time, I knew that by not remembering me there was a chance you didn't remember all the terrible memories that you went through. No one should have to see their parent harmed, and you saw the worst of it. I amended that if you didn't know me, you didn't know that memory, either."

He shoved his hands deep into his coat pocket as he watched her take in what he was saying, the anger scribed on her face subsiding. He didn't know if he should leave it at that, or if he should explain the determination of getting her to remember him. Something told him that if he didn't tell her, he might be able to salvage the trust that he broke by omitting the truth to her these past twelve weeks. Yet, he also knew that if she found out down the road, those once broken ties would be severed completely.

"You know the day we bumped into each other at the coffee shop, when you spilled coffee on my pants? The reason why I fumbled over my words was because when I saw you, I knew immediately it was you. Your hairstyle and that rich, blue color of your eyes, it never left me. And when we were in the same chem. class and the teacher said 'Usagi,' I almost lost it. I was ecstatic that I finally, after seven years, was able to see you again. Those feelings that I had over the years came back to me ten-fold, and when you slipped me the notes, I thought you recognized me, too. But you didn't. And while it hurt that your memory loss of me was confirmed, I wanted to become your friend. I had this hope that maybe, just maybe, if we became friends," he paused, taking a hard swallow, "that maybe you would remember me. Remember us."

Whatever she was feeling, Mamoru couldn't tell. All he knew was that he hoped she wasn't angry at him for delving into the feelings he had for her. Maybe she wanted the brief summary of their friendship? Or maybe she wanted to know the truth about how he felt for her. But what if she didn't? Panic started to grow in his stomach, suddenly regretting mentioning "us" in a romantic way.

"This, this is, this is…" she stuttered, "I need to sit down." She breezed right by him, walking to a nearby bench and sitting down on it, not bothering to wipe off the snow that dusted itself atop it. He slowly followed her, unsure whether she needed to be alone to take it all in or if she wanted to say something. He ran his hand through his hair, nervous and anticipating what words would be exchanged next.

"I'm not going to pretend like I'm not hurt, Mamoru-san," she finally said. "I wish that you told me this shortly after we established a friendship, not before we're about to head our separate ways for the next six weeks."

"I'm sorry," he said, casting his eyes downward.

"I'm also not going to lie that when we sat down outside after the first day of chem. that I felt something," she said in a gentle voice. "I had this nagging familiar feeling that I knew you, like really knew you. I couldn't figure out why, but I just pushed it aside. I know you mentioned we were at the Home together, but I didn't think to put two-and-two together." He looked back up at her, her hands clasped in her lap, her eyes focused on the pavement.

"You," she said softly, "you should have told me."

"I know."

"This changes everything."

"I know."

"I know that you did this out of respect, Mamoru-san, I really do. But it's a lot to take in. I thought we were really good friends."

"I'm sorry, I really am."

She stood up and looked at him, as if she wanted to say something, but hesitated. After a few moments, she spoke slowly, "I'll see you next semester. Have a nice holiday, Mamoru-san." She shoved her hands in her pocket and walked past him, the clicking of her heels fading as she went off into the distance.

After the sounds diminished, he sat down on the vacant bench and stared out at the empty quad. The snow began to fall heavier, but he didn't care. Although he knew that she would have felt betrayed by keeping the secrets from her, he couldn't help but have that small hope that she would understand and want to know everything about their friendship. And maybe, even about the promise. He knew that's why he had mentioned it. It wasn't for her benefit, it was solely for his. He wanted more than anything for her to fall into his arms with a sudden realization that they were meant to be together, even though it was a farfetched dream. Instead, she walked away with the truth and broken trust. Perhaps for good.

Just as she came back into his life like a blazing fire in his heart, it was quickly put out behind justifications and excuses he made. The fire went out, cindering his heart into a thousand pieces.

For the second time in thirteen years, and over the same girl, he bobbed his head into his hands and cried.

---

The day after had felt like an eternity to Mamoru. In between packing, a sleepless night, riding the bullet train home, and the anguish he was going through, he wanted nothing more than to busy himself to try and forget about the feelings. He was his own undoing, and that crushed him more than anything else. Perhaps by visiting friends and spending time with his family, he could try and overcome the regret and start spring semester with a fresh outlook. Maybe, even, he could move on.

He immediately dismissed the thoughts as soon as they popped into his head. Caring for someone for thirteen years – more than half his life – would be impossible to overcome in six weeks. He never wanted to stop caring for her and he knew that he would continue to hope that she would forgive him, even if it took twenty years.

The first few weeks of winter break went by slowly. He thought about nothing but Usagi and what she was doing, how she thought about his revelations, if she would forgive him. He even wondered if his words wound up driving her deeper into Seiya's arms for comfort and consoling. He felt his body twist with anger at the thought of it, sending himself deeper into regret, anger, and isolation.

His parents tried to cheer him up. After a few days of silence, he told them about what happened. He always confided in his parents about her, especially after they witnessed their separation. They consoled him as he expressed his anger, frustration, and sadness, and they did their best to try and distract them by taking him away on a five day trip to Niseko for skiing. All it did was depress him even more, thinking about Usagi and Seiya's anniversary ski weekend.

It was a week before he was about to go back to school. He felt bad about the lack of time he spent with anyone, but he couldn't escape the demons that planted themselves within him. Determined to try and make the most of his last week, he called Motoki and asked if him and the guys wanted to go down to the bar and hang out. After confirming the plans, he felt a little bit better and headed into the shower to get ready.

Throwing on a t-shirt, a button up and a pair of jeans, he walked out into the living room and sat down on the couch waiting for the guys to pick him up. He turned on the TV and began to flick through the channels when the doorbell rang.

Turning off the TV and tossing the remote, he grabbed his coat and opened the door. About to make a wise crack, he froze.

There she was, standing outside the doorway.

"Hi, Mamoru-san."

---

She didn't know what brought her here. One moment she was hanging out with Minako and the next she was on a bullet train for Hiroshima. All she knew is that when he opened the door, her heart leapt at the site of him.

Ever since he told her everything about their past, she couldn't stop thinking about him. At first, she was angry at him for hiding the truth from her and convinced herself that he was just trying to weasel his way back into her life by playing a game with her about getting her to remember him. But after the anger fizzled, she knew it was misplaced. It must have taken a lot for him to admit what he did, and she knew that the reasons behind not telling her were to protect her. He was right – no one should have to go through a parent dying. She started to think about how he said it hurt him that she didn't remember him, and those words stuck for a while. Not once did she consider that protecting her was emotionally harming him in the first place. He barricaded those memories to protect her, regardless of how it may have hurt him. After the revelation, she was angry with herself for being angry with him.

When she was at the coffee shop with Minako, she spilled everything: the Children's Home, the accident, Mamoru, and what he told her. Minako listened quietly as Usagi poured everything out, including feelings she wasn't willing to admit to herself. She knew she fell for him, despite Seiya and their relationship. She felt a connection to Mamoru immediately and found herself looking forward to spending time with him rather than Seiya.

"_Go to him," Minako said._

"_What?" she asked, startled by the bold suggestion._

"_Go to him, Usagi-chan. This whole thing isn't going to resolve itself if you don't talk to him."_

"_I can't just go, Minako-chan! I don't even know where he lives!" she weakly rebutted._

"_Usagi-chan, we can find his address. You need to go to him and sort this out. He's got to be hurting too, you know?"_

"_I didn't think of that," she admitted quietly._

"_Go, Usagi-chan. There is nothing but you holding you back."_

And she did. She ran back to her parent's house and scraped together what little money she had to buy a ticket to Hiroshima. The trip was lengthy, and felt ten times longer due to the anticipation of seeing him. All she could think about was if he even wanted to see her and what he would say when he did. Minako texted her his address mid-way through the trip, saying that she got it from Motoki. In the back of her mind, she wondered what was developing between the two of them, but her nerves pushed the thought into the back of her mind.

Now here she was, standing inside a luxurious building in front of a private entrance to a penthouse, staring at him. The look on his face, the frozen, shocked look, scared her. Did he want her there? Clearly, he was dressed up and about to go out. Swallowing her fears, she asked "can we talk?"


	11. Final Chapter

Final Chapter

Until You Come Back to me Again

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon is not mine. Sailor Moon and all the characters within the series belongs to Naoko Takeuchi.

Summery: (A/U) Usagi and Mamoru grew close, growing up together in the local orphanage, never wanting to each others side. But after Usagi gets into a life-altering accident and Mamoru is adopted, will the two reconnect after years of separation?

AN: Once again, it took me forever, and for that I apologize. I want this story to have a proper ending, and therefore didn't want to just whip one out. I hereby present my final chapter of this story!

* * *

"Can we talk?"

Mamoru continued to stand there, appearing confused. It took him a few moments, but he nodded and opened up the door wider, allowing her to step in. Standing in the foyer of his home, Usagi scanned the entryway, drinking in the lavish scenery briefly before turning her focus back on him. She could hear breath sharpened as she inhaled, taken aback by how handsome he looked. Assuming by his appearance, she could tell she was interrupting something.

"Were you going somewhere?" she asked. "I could come back later if you are."

"No, no, it's nothing trust me," he answered rather quickly. "Come in, please."

Nodding, she removed her damp shoes and coat, handing it to him as he outstretched his arms. She followed him as he hung it up and escorted her into the living room. She watched as he turned off whatever program was on the television and then look at her, his eyes filled with what she could only assume to be curiosity. She could feel the tension and awkwardness between them, prompting even more butterflies than before.

"You have a lovely home, Mamoru-san," she stated, hoping to break the uneasy silence.

"Thank you," he simply stated.

The moments continued to linger. Taking a deep breath, she licked her lips, darted her eyes to her feet and clenched her hands, hoping to relieve the nerves inside, and opened her mouth. She took a breath, trying to muster up the words to say to him, but she couldn't. Each breath made her heart pound with unexplainable emotions.

"Usagi?" he asked in a voice that sounded so gentle, she could feel her heart's pace change drastically.

She looked back up at him. Barriers broken, she truly looked at him for the first time in years. Just like the eyes burned in her mind months ago, she saw the same pair staring back, as blue as cobalt. No longer was he just an individual that she met her first day of University, nor was he a good friend of her past whom she had a close relationship with. In front of her stood a man; one who studied until all hours of the night, was addicted to coffee, enjoys watching sports, who truly cared for her. She had walked away from him after he told her a difficult truth, and yet he continued to stand here in front of her.

Words were unnecessary, she decided, as she leaned into his chest. His arms quickly enveloped her, taking her in deeper as he buried his face into her hair. It was an unexplainable feeling, almost like something clicking deep inside of her.

Her yesterdays in front of her, the mysteries unfolded and changed all that is, and all that used to be.

Pulling back slightly, she gazed up at him. She had never felt a feeling such as this, one so overpowering to her mind and heart. She could feel the signals being sent to her within, bellowing at her to react further. Closing her eyes slightly, she stretched up on her toes and pressed her lips to his.

* * *

"Stop, Mamo-chan, it tickles!"

Mamoru smiled as he watched Usagi brush the pollen off the tip of her nose, muttering playfully about how she was about to sneeze. "Usako, everything tickles you," he laughed. Taking the daisy held in his hand, he reached up and tucked it into a piece of Usagi's bun. "There, now I can't tickle you with it anymore," he stated.

He sighed happily as she smiled at him. "Come on now," she said, "Get back to work!" Handing him a roller, she continued on with the project at hand: giving the Juuban Children's Home a sprucing up.

Nodding in agreement, he lathered the large, brown door with a bright red paint. No longer would this place appear dark and meek, but it could be perceived as a place where children in need really would have a home, not just a temporary living situation.

Ever since winter break, everything changed tenfold. Right before Spring semester began, he received a letter stating that he was accepted to study the summer abroad at Harvard University in America. His parents, beyond overjoyed, gladly offered to pay the tuition and expenses involved.

Also, Coach Tomoe from the soccer team asked if he would return to the soccer team for Senior year. Although hesitant at first, he agreed to it. He found that not only was it good to add an extra-curricular activity to his resume, but it was a great stress reliever from studying. Moreover, he absolutely loved playing and felt like he fell back into his niche.

More importantly, he had her back in his life. Since her visit, the two of them grew closer than he ever imagined was possible. They spent the next few days of her visit getting to truly know each other again. He was able to take the memories of the blonde haired, blue eyed girl and allow them to mesh with the woman in front of him.

Usagi dumped Seiya right after she left Hiroshima. She told him that he was quite vocal and angry about it, but right when they got back from break they saw him with another woman. Shrugging it off, she laughed and said he couldn't have cared too much and never brought it up again.

Usagi also received some interesting news of her own. Although a freshman, she was accepted to study in Greece for a laboratory internship, paid in full. Unable to pass up an opportunity at such a young age, she graciously accepted.

When the two of them returned for Spring semester, they signed up to volunteer at the Juuban Children's Home. They decided that they wanted to give something back to the place that brought them together and to show those who are alone that there is always hope both beyond and inside the walls that surround them. Friendships can last a lifetime, love can blossom, and dreams can come true.

"Mamo-chan, why do you keep grinning like that? You look like a goof!"

Laughing, he looked back over at her, that sparkle in her eye he saw seven years ago.

"What can I say, I just keep thinking about how lucky I am."

Dropping his roller, he grabbed and enveloped her into his grasp. As she squealed out a playful "Mamo," he placed a kiss on her temple and hugged her tighter.

"I'll always be here for you Usako," he murmured into her hair. "No matter where life brings us I'll wait for you, until you come back to me again."

* * *

_On a prayer, in a song  
__I hear your voice and it keeps me hanging on.  
__Raining down, against the wind  
__I'm reaching out 'til we reach the circle's end  
__When you come back to me again._

* * *

Thank you for those who supported my story and my work, it means the world to me

A few things that I would like to disclose now that this story has come to an end six years later:

1. This story is told by two character's POV. Yes, it is unusual and often times frowned upon, but considering the basis for this story, I found it nearly impossible to stick with one individual's view throughout the entire story. Considering two individuals are impacted throughout, I hope you can see why I did this.

2. In case anyone hasn't been able to tell, I have picked apart Garth Brooks' song "When you come back to me again" and applied it throughout this story. Clearly it's stated as the "end" of the story, but if you scan back, you will see one line inserts throughout.

. I will be periodically going back through and editing the chapters to this story. Although posted in this account in 2007, it truly came to be in 2005 (check profile moonlightusa). Since then, I have taken multiple writing workshops and I have learned way more than I ever could have known when I was 19. Of course, it will not be one of those delete and re-add for more comments like some do, but it'll be subtle edits. Besides, a 19 year old imagination is way more vivid than my 25 year old one now!

Once again, thank you to those of you, past and present, who continued your support and egged me on to keep creating more chapters. You guys are the best!


End file.
